Nick Clegg's leader's speech seeks to position his party as the natural successors to "finished" Labour.It's a little presumptuous, to say the least, that the party whose rise suffocated the Liberals in the first half of the 20th century is now itself beginning a terminal decline. But the Lib Dems seriously believe they are emerging from a couple of very difficult years with a real chance to fill the vacuum created by sucked-up Labour unpopularity. This year's conference revealed a lot of home truths about Nick Clegg's dynamic and divided party. Their commitment to conference delegates being "sovereign" shone through: there's none of the staged 'discussions' seen at Labour and Conservative conferences here. Instead activists make the rules and feel genuinely involved as a result. And backroom deals are replaced by having it out in the open. The more squeamish among you – including this writer – might be a little appalled by the prospect of a party sorting out their dirty washing in the public glare. It's true, this is healthier than repressing the tensions, the difficulties, that underlie all parties. It does have an unfortunate side-effect, though. The Lib Dems are as divided – if not more so – than any of the other parties and that was plain for all to see during Monday's tax cuts v spending priorities debate. A 'broad church' coalition is all very well. But Monday highlighted the huge differences of views which are perfectly compatible with Lib Dem values. What links them together are principles; what divides them is how to achieve them. It's possible to argue well into the night whether this is a serious ideological problem. Believe me, politics.co.uk has gone more than a few rounds with the party faithful. And perhaps it's true the traditional left-right balance isn't so relevant when it comes to the fundamentals of their philosophy. Unfortunately, however, the political world we live in is fundamentally dominated by the means debate. Thirdly – and this is probably the most significant of all - the media is having a lot of trouble fully understanding this. Senior party officials have admitted to politics.co.uk the situation was worsened by confusion over the £20 billion of "guaranteed", probably, tax cuts. That didn't help, but the real problem goes much deeper than that: what was passed was conceptual, a point of principle, as opposed to final spending policy. It's about 'getting' the way the party works. If journalists have struggled at times in the last few weeks to comprehend the uniqueness that is the Lib Dems, the electorate can hardly be blamed for failing to receive the message being sent from Bournemouth. Mr Clegg says he wants to move into Labour party territory; to do so will require shaping the party's message in a way which real voters can understand. Alex Stevenson
Friday, September 19, 2008
Comment: Lib Dem prospects
Comment: Lib Dem prospects
Nick Clegg's leader's speech seeks to position his party as the natural successors to "finished" Labour.It's a little presumptuous, to say the least, that the party whose rise suffocated the Liberals in the first half of the 20th century is now itself beginning a terminal decline. But the Lib Dems seriously believe they are emerging from a couple of very difficult years with a real chance to fill the vacuum created by sucked-up Labour unpopularity. This year's conference revealed a lot of home truths about Nick Clegg's dynamic and divided party. Their commitment to conference delegates being "sovereign" shone through: there's none of the staged 'discussions' seen at Labour and Conservative conferences here. Instead activists make the rules and feel genuinely involved as a result. And backroom deals are replaced by having it out in the open. The more squeamish among you – including this writer – might be a little appalled by the prospect of a party sorting out their dirty washing in the public glare. It's true, this is healthier than repressing the tensions, the difficulties, that underlie all parties. It does have an unfortunate side-effect, though. The Lib Dems are as divided – if not more so – than any of the other parties and that was plain for all to see during Monday's tax cuts v spending priorities debate. A 'broad church' coalition is all very well. But Monday highlighted the huge differences of views which are perfectly compatible with Lib Dem values. What links them together are principles; what divides them is how to achieve them. It's possible to argue well into the night whether this is a serious ideological problem. Believe me, politics.co.uk has gone more than a few rounds with the party faithful. And perhaps it's true the traditional left-right balance isn't so relevant when it comes to the fundamentals of their philosophy. Unfortunately, however, the political world we live in is fundamentally dominated by the means debate. Thirdly – and this is probably the most significant of all - the media is having a lot of trouble fully understanding this. Senior party officials have admitted to politics.co.uk the situation was worsened by confusion over the £20 billion of "guaranteed", probably, tax cuts. That didn't help, but the real problem goes much deeper than that: what was passed was conceptual, a point of principle, as opposed to final spending policy. It's about 'getting' the way the party works. If journalists have struggled at times in the last few weeks to comprehend the uniqueness that is the Lib Dems, the electorate can hardly be blamed for failing to receive the message being sent from Bournemouth. Mr Clegg says he wants to move into Labour party territory; to do so will require shaping the party's message in a way which real voters can understand. Alex Stevenson
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Nick Clegg's leader's speech seeks to position his party as the natural successors to "finished" Labour.It's a little presumptuous, to say the least, that the party whose rise suffocated the Liberals in the first half of the 20th century is now itself beginning a terminal decline. But the Lib Dems seriously believe they are emerging from a couple of very difficult years with a real chance to fill the vacuum created by sucked-up Labour unpopularity. This year's conference revealed a lot of home truths about Nick Clegg's dynamic and divided party. Their commitment to conference delegates being "sovereign" shone through: there's none of the staged 'discussions' seen at Labour and Conservative conferences here. Instead activists make the rules and feel genuinely involved as a result. And backroom deals are replaced by having it out in the open. The more squeamish among you – including this writer – might be a little appalled by the prospect of a party sorting out their dirty washing in the public glare. It's true, this is healthier than repressing the tensions, the difficulties, that underlie all parties. It does have an unfortunate side-effect, though. The Lib Dems are as divided – if not more so – than any of the other parties and that was plain for all to see during Monday's tax cuts v spending priorities debate. A 'broad church' coalition is all very well. But Monday highlighted the huge differences of views which are perfectly compatible with Lib Dem values. What links them together are principles; what divides them is how to achieve them. It's possible to argue well into the night whether this is a serious ideological problem. Believe me, politics.co.uk has gone more than a few rounds with the party faithful. And perhaps it's true the traditional left-right balance isn't so relevant when it comes to the fundamentals of their philosophy. Unfortunately, however, the political world we live in is fundamentally dominated by the means debate. Thirdly – and this is probably the most significant of all - the media is having a lot of trouble fully understanding this. Senior party officials have admitted to politics.co.uk the situation was worsened by confusion over the £20 billion of "guaranteed", probably, tax cuts. That didn't help, but the real problem goes much deeper than that: what was passed was conceptual, a point of principle, as opposed to final spending policy. It's about 'getting' the way the party works. If journalists have struggled at times in the last few weeks to comprehend the uniqueness that is the Lib Dems, the electorate can hardly be blamed for failing to receive the message being sent from Bournemouth. Mr Clegg says he wants to move into Labour party territory; to do so will require shaping the party's message in a way which real voters can understand. Alex Stevenson
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