When I started this blog I had great support from a fellow LibDem supporter who had similar views to myself. He wrote a blog too, much better than this one. We wanted two questions on the referendum paper as we felt that was the only way forward for Home Rule, an ideal our party had be striving for, for over 100 years. We also felt the party has lost its way in the search for power. Yesterday he had a shock for all who followed his blog, he was giving it up. He also mentioned that he had thought about sending his membership card back, This is how bad things have got in the party.
What has brought this event on? Well I can't speak for Andrew and won't try to. This course of action was not entirely due to the state of the party, other things are happening in his life, for which I am very happy about. As he is such a great supporter of the party and of liberal ideals, to of thought about sending back his membership card goes to show how low our party members must be feeling.
The latest proposal being put forward by the coalition to snoopy on emails, twitter & other internet activity is a step too far for many members. The generally supportive email of this measure by Lynne Featherstone to party members has not helped. Her 'trust us' stance is hard to take when so many other things we trusted the party leaders with have proven to be false. Why should this be any different? One party member has said that this issue was a matter of principle, the others were a matter of policy. I do not agree but this shows the depth of feeling, this issue holds.
Call me a cynic but I found it odd the Internet proposal came just before the closed courts issue which Clegg drew a line in the sand with. Could this be a ruse by the party? When only 1 of these are passed they'll say "well we could not stop the other. We do have an effect on policy". Even worse look we are fighting these evil Tory's, vote for us in the local elections. I have seen too many promises broken under Clegg. At the election decrying any cut in VAT & the Student Fees, after the election trying to make us believe that cutting VAT & imposing Fees was actually the right thing to do. Then denationalising the NHS, cutting Welfare to those who most need it, making people worse off by working than by being unemployed. Saying no cut in the 50p tax without a Mansion Tax and then cutting the tax rate without the Mansion Tax. Where are the red lines?
When I went to Spring Conference Dinner in Inverness in March, I was told by a very senior member of the Government, that we should stop looking back and look at the things that we were achieving and yes we have achieved some things but is it enough, at what cost to the UK as a whole and to the unity of the UK? Also at what cost to the party if members like Andrew thought about leaving? The party leaders seem not to recognise the discontent of the members and the supporters or think that at election time they will come back. I live in the Caithness Landward ward and we don't even have a prospective councillor standing. This is in a constituency where we have a LibDem MP for many years. The Highland council is run by LibDem Independent coalition. You would of thought they would of wanted more councillors, if so why not in this ward? Are the members too disillusioned to stand, I know I am.
Tim Fallon (party Chairman) is saying he will stand firm on the internet issue and is reported as saying the LibDems will kill the bill. What he actually said was that if they bill was not right and prying too much then they would kill the bill. Not 100% sure where the red line will be. Also the cynical part of me comes out, is Tim playing the good guy to Nick's bad guy. Is this a party ploy, knowing Clegg is now damaged goods, Tim is being shown as the soul of the party, ready to replace Clegg. Tim says not, I want to believe him but trust in the party leadership is wearing very thin.
I think Andrew will be back blogging, he loves it and the party to much but wishing him and his family all the happiness for the future. If anyone has not read his blog then this is it http://scottish-liberal.blogspot.co.uk/
What has brought this event on? Well I can't speak for Andrew and won't try to. This course of action was not entirely due to the state of the party, other things are happening in his life, for which I am very happy about. As he is such a great supporter of the party and of liberal ideals, to of thought about sending back his membership card goes to show how low our party members must be feeling.
The latest proposal being put forward by the coalition to snoopy on emails, twitter & other internet activity is a step too far for many members. The generally supportive email of this measure by Lynne Featherstone to party members has not helped. Her 'trust us' stance is hard to take when so many other things we trusted the party leaders with have proven to be false. Why should this be any different? One party member has said that this issue was a matter of principle, the others were a matter of policy. I do not agree but this shows the depth of feeling, this issue holds.
Call me a cynic but I found it odd the Internet proposal came just before the closed courts issue which Clegg drew a line in the sand with. Could this be a ruse by the party? When only 1 of these are passed they'll say "well we could not stop the other. We do have an effect on policy". Even worse look we are fighting these evil Tory's, vote for us in the local elections. I have seen too many promises broken under Clegg. At the election decrying any cut in VAT & the Student Fees, after the election trying to make us believe that cutting VAT & imposing Fees was actually the right thing to do. Then denationalising the NHS, cutting Welfare to those who most need it, making people worse off by working than by being unemployed. Saying no cut in the 50p tax without a Mansion Tax and then cutting the tax rate without the Mansion Tax. Where are the red lines?
When I went to Spring Conference Dinner in Inverness in March, I was told by a very senior member of the Government, that we should stop looking back and look at the things that we were achieving and yes we have achieved some things but is it enough, at what cost to the UK as a whole and to the unity of the UK? Also at what cost to the party if members like Andrew thought about leaving? The party leaders seem not to recognise the discontent of the members and the supporters or think that at election time they will come back. I live in the Caithness Landward ward and we don't even have a prospective councillor standing. This is in a constituency where we have a LibDem MP for many years. The Highland council is run by LibDem Independent coalition. You would of thought they would of wanted more councillors, if so why not in this ward? Are the members too disillusioned to stand, I know I am.
Tim Fallon (party Chairman) is saying he will stand firm on the internet issue and is reported as saying the LibDems will kill the bill. What he actually said was that if they bill was not right and prying too much then they would kill the bill. Not 100% sure where the red line will be. Also the cynical part of me comes out, is Tim playing the good guy to Nick's bad guy. Is this a party ploy, knowing Clegg is now damaged goods, Tim is being shown as the soul of the party, ready to replace Clegg. Tim says not, I want to believe him but trust in the party leadership is wearing very thin.
I think Andrew will be back blogging, he loves it and the party to much but wishing him and his family all the happiness for the future. If anyone has not read his blog then this is it http://scottish-liberal.blogspot.co.uk/
Gerry, I'm disappointed as you are that you don't have a local candidate in your ward, but I think the signs across Scotland, and indeed the rest of England and Wales too, that things aren't as bad as they were this time last year.
ReplyDeletePeople on the doorsteps are being much more positive and recognising the work their local councillors have done. The mood is very different to last year.
On the e-mail thing, it worries me that the party was very quick to assume the worst when it looks like we've kicked these proposals into the long grass. I don't think our people handled themselves particularly well - Farron should have been out the previous weekend when it all broke, for example - but if nothing else, a very clear message has been sent to the leadership that the party will not tolerate any extension of RIPA powers or surveillance in that way.
That's a very good thing.
In terms of VAT and tuition fees, the economic situation changed over the election campaign as the Eurozone started to erupt. We could have sat on our hands and let Tories implement Browne without any cap on fees, possibly with Labour support, but we got stuck in there and made the system fairer on those on the lowest incomes. Yes, we made some howlers in the process but the end product is a lot better than it would have been without us.
We need to learn as a party to trust our people. They need to learn to communicate with us more and better. After the really good stuff done for the Budget, they mucked up on the surveillance stuff.
People are responding well to the calm, genuine, sensible way Willie Rennie is articulating what we believe in - helping people to get up and get on in life, trusting local people to make local decisions, no quick fixes, but looking for long term solutions.
The party is not in an easy situation, and we don't always get it right, but I'd still much rather be part of the Lib Dem family than be anywhere else.
caron I cannot agree that it was a good budget. Pointed to the tax cut when we were saying it would not happen. The 'granny tax' was bad. Not much in there for growth.
DeleteThe Euro crisis happened after the VAT increase & tuition fees. We said at the time that things were worse than expected. Every new government has used that excuse for unpalatable measures. Also parties saying we are doing good things not communicating it well enough.
I am old enough to remember government saying these things time after time. When MacMillan was saying we have never had it so good,taking my brother to the dole office and queues around the block.
People who I speak who voted LibDem last time don't give me the same feedback you seem to be getting. I wish they were but they have lost trust in the party
Gerry - the sentiments expressed about both myself and my blog are immensely appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI'm giving up blogging for a number of reasons, mainly as you know because of changing personal priorities. There are also other ongiong projects that I've not given sufficient attention to recently. I may return to the blog - I'd certainly like to - but won't make promises. I enjoy it, politics in in my blood and it's a part of who I am. But sometimes there are more important things in life...
As for the state of the party, I'm not in disagreement with you. You know that. I'm very unhappy about many things and at various points I've considered leaving the party. The shambolic way that we handled the online surveillance issue was the most recent; no-one comes out of it with any credit - even, as Caron has pointed out, Tim Farron whose eventual welcome response could have been better timed and is suggestive of personal political calculation. What really worries me is that the Tories are so much better than us when it comes to the tactical and strategic elements, and at every corner we are made to look ridiculous because of our lack of strategic nous. Even on this surveillance issue, it's US that are on the defensive, not the Tories - as it was on tuition fees and the NHS. How clever is that?
But while I've considered plenty of things, I'm with Caron in saying that "I'd still much rather be part of the Lib Dem family than be anywhere else". I'm becoming more disenchanted with our leadership, at least on the federal level, and unhappy at some of the decisions we're making - not least in regards Scotland's future. But I still love the party - I've never felt more at home anywhere than around fellow Lib Dems. I can't see an alternative political home because, much as I respect other parties and their members, I'm a liberal. And this party is my home as much as it's Nick Clegg's or Lynne Featherstone's.
The budget wasn't the best by any stretch of the imagination. But that was a positive example of our having a useful impact on what the government delivered. I'm realistic enough to understand that we're in coalition with a Conservative Party often unfriendly to liberal values. What concerns me more is the poor strategic direction, based as it is on false assumptions of electorates rewarding providers of stability, and the faltering performances of those at the top of the party.
Anyway Gerry - I'm still happy to encourage like minded Lib Dems. I'm not going away and can always be found on twitter. Maybe all I need is a short break and to adjust to what will be a quite different new life.
In the meantime, keep up the good work!
Andrew,
DeleteIt hit home yesterday when I read your tweet saying you thought about handing your membership card back. I was shocked as you are liberal through & through. I thought because of your love of the party, you will return to blogging after a respite.
I am with you and Caron about being happier in the party than anywhere else. That is why I am so annoyed at the state of the party. As you say it is as much our home as the party leaders. They need to understand this too and not pay lip service and have the 'we know best' attitude.
I hate being so negative towards the party but I am not a person to say things are going well when I think they are not.
Have a good rest, you have been fighting the good fight for a while now. Enjoy and have fun