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I assume by ‘breaking a manifesto promise’ you are referring to backtracking on the student loan issue. For context, the Lib Dems ran a campaign, the most talke

by rcarr 4y ago

I assume by ‘breaking a manifesto promise’ you are referring to backtracking on the student loan issue. For context, the Lib Dems ran a campaign, the most talked about point being that they would get rid of student loan fees which had recently risen to £3000, the highest they had ever been. Not only did they not do that, within about two years of office they signed off on doubling that amount by 200% to £9000 tuition fees. For the average student, University tuition now costs even more than America (I can provide a source if you don’t believe this), and I would argue that the quality is nowhere near as good. I voted for them on the basis of that pledge and I have never felt more betrayed by a political party in my life. It sickens me to my stomach. In this country you can only get four years of loans for university. I ended up dropping out of university because I was a mess in my late teens/early twenties. It means I now only have two years of funding left - not enough to get a degree unless I do a two year fast track course which are only available in certain subjects and of questionable quality. To go back, I would have to find a spare £9000 out of nowhere plus living costs which are most likely at least another £9000. This is particularly difficult when you can’t access high paying jobs because you don’t have a degree. I’ve long since sorted myself out but I am now effectively priced out of bettering myself in my own country, directly as a response of the decision of this Lib Dem government. I taught myself to code to finally escape the minimum wage job trap. I have also been teaching myself Spanish over the last few years and I am seriously considering moving to Argentina or another Latin American country in order to access the affordable education. I am also going to start teaching myself German to open up the option of staying in Europe as the university costs there are minimal or free. Once I leave, I am planning on never coming back if I can help it. I feel that betrayed by my own country and have zero faith in it as a democratic representation of its citizens. The Lib Dems could absolutely have not voted for that issue. They could have walked away and dissolved the coalition government. They chose not to. Well, decisions have consequences as I found out the hard way. And as a result, I will never vote Lib Dem again so long as I live.

dijit 4y ago
And Labour invaded another sovereign country illegally and set a lot of the groundwork for this current problem of the NHS privitisations with "PFIs". And the Conservatives are the ones who actually instrumented those policies you dislike. Lib Dems went for electoral reform in the gambit of making it a more representative democracy; a gambit which lost. "Give me your backing on this and I'll give you the other thing" is a pretty common compromise. I'm sorry about your student loans, but were I in the same position, I would have made the same gambit. Who do you vote for in that situation?
- rcarr 4y ago
  > And Labour invaded another sovereign country illegally and set a lot of the groundwork for this current problem of the NHS having to continually sell its assets (such as real estate). Yes I don’t agree with the Iraq war. But Labour didn’t run an election campaign based on not going to war in Iraq before getting elected and then going to war in Iraq. Or in the case of what the Lib Dems did, going to war with Iraq plus another two countries on top (200% increase). Iraq had no part to play in the election. I can’t comment on the NHS part because I don’t know specifically what this ground work is you’re talking about. > And the Conservatives are the ones who actually instrumented those policies you dislike. This is bullshit, it was a minority coalition government, if both parties didn’t vote for it it wouldn’t have passed. The Lib Dems are equally as responsible as the tories. > Lib Dems went for electoral reform in the gambit of making it a more representative democracy; a gambit which lost. This is one take. The other is that the Lib Dems voted for what was in the best interest of the Lib Dems (had they have won) and dropped all their other principles and pledges to the people that voted for them. All the parties are rotten but as I say, I will never vote for the Lib Dems because of the direct consequences their decisions have had on my life. And I don’t think that makes me a hypocrite.
  - dijit 4y ago
    Electoral reform was also an advertised manifesto pledge. A pretty huge one actually: "a fair deal by cleaning up politics". My key point here is that, while I understand you feel betrayed, the other parties are quite literally breaking their pledges left and right. The main difference is that it seems to get not that much media attention. That you wouldn't vote for someone who made a compromise against their values: but might vote for a purported anti-semite[0] or an actual racist homophobe[1] is disquieting. [0]: Corbyn being accused of being an anti-semite is of course a load of tosh spun by the right wing media machine [1]: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/sep/30/boris-johnson-caught-on-camera-reciting-kipling-in-myanmar-temple https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/sep/30/boris-johns... & https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-bum-boys-homophobic-free-speech-election-tory-lgbt-a9224491.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson... & the numerous comments regarding "letter boxes"
  - 4y ago

by rcarr 4y ago

dijit 4y ago

And Labour invaded another sovereign country illegally and set a lot of the groundwork for this current problem of the NHS privitisations with "PFIs". And the Conservatives are the ones who actually instrumented those policies you dislike. Lib Dems went for electoral reform in the gambit of making it a more representative democracy; a gambit which lost. "Give me your backing on this and I'll give you the other thing" is a pretty common compromise. I'm sorry about your student loans, but were I in the same position, I would have made the same gambit. Who do you vote for in that situation?

rcarr 4y ago
> And Labour invaded another sovereign country illegally and set a lot of the groundwork for this current problem of the NHS having to continually sell its assets (such as real estate). Yes I don’t agree with the Iraq war. But Labour didn’t run an election campaign based on not going to war in Iraq before getting elected and then going to war in Iraq. Or in the case of what the Lib Dems did, going to war with Iraq plus another two countries on top (200% increase). Iraq had no part to play in the election. I can’t comment on the NHS part because I don’t know specifically what this ground work is you’re talking about. > And the Conservatives are the ones who actually instrumented those policies you dislike. This is bullshit, it was a minority coalition government, if both parties didn’t vote for it it wouldn’t have passed. The Lib Dems are equally as responsible as the tories. > Lib Dems went for electoral reform in the gambit of making it a more representative democracy; a gambit which lost. This is one take. The other is that the Lib Dems voted for what was in the best interest of the Lib Dems (had they have won) and dropped all their other principles and pledges to the people that voted for them. All the parties are rotten but as I say, I will never vote for the Lib Dems because of the direct consequences their decisions have had on my life. And I don’t think that makes me a hypocrite.
- dijit 4y ago
  Electoral reform was also an advertised manifesto pledge. A pretty huge one actually: "a fair deal by cleaning up politics". My key point here is that, while I understand you feel betrayed, the other parties are quite literally breaking their pledges left and right. The main difference is that it seems to get not that much media attention. That you wouldn't vote for someone who made a compromise against their values: but might vote for a purported anti-semite[0] or an actual racist homophobe[1] is disquieting. [0]: Corbyn being accused of being an anti-semite is of course a load of tosh spun by the right wing media machine [1]: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/sep/30/boris-johnson-caught-on-camera-reciting-kipling-in-myanmar-temple https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/sep/30/boris-johns... & https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-bum-boys-homophobic-free-speech-election-tory-lgbt-a9224491.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson... & the numerous comments regarding "letter boxes"
- 4y ago