Don’t Patronise Me – Or Spy on Me

I’m angry. I blogged how cautious I was last night (Civil Liberties- The LibDem’s Home Turf on Spineless Liberal). But now I’m angry. Here’s why.

Where’s the government? I really don’t care…

Where’s the government?

A lot of people are asking where is the government’s presence and leadership over the London Riots. I don’t believe they’re relevant.

A Good Day For Progressives

Image via Wikipedia

It’s been a few days since the results of council, Holyrood, Cardiff and Stormont elections, along with the all-important AV referendum, were revealed. The dust is settling, and it’s time to offer my take on the results.

The recent elections, despite appearances, were good for the progressive Left-wing parties in Britain. The Liberal Democrats suffered badly, and the people rejected AV, but the future may still be bright for us Spineless Liberals.

Let me explain….

UK’s electoral reform, explained by progressive leaders (via Letters from Europe)

Image via Wikipedia

A letter in the Guardian from Sunday, arguing the main reasons why any British progressive, regardless of party politics, must support AV – summary offered here by the Letters From Europe blog.

If you are a centre-lefty like myself, just remember this – the Tories have regularly dominated politics in Britain, despite only being elected with 50% of the popular vote in 1900 and 1931. Every other time, left-wing infighting between Labourites, Liberal Democrats, Greens, and the Left Nationalists of the Celtic nations, have led to the Conservatives benefiting. We can’t let that continue any longer….

While not as entertaining as when explained to cats, the Guardian nonetheless has perhaps the most “authoritative” defense of the alternative vote system. It is signed by Labour shadow business secretary John Denham, Lib Dem energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne, leader of the Green Party Caroline Lucas. I have long thought the British system – like the American – is thoroughly dysfunctional and undemocratic, robbing much of the elector … Read More

via Letters from Europe

Related Articles

• AV referendum: why progressives must unite to vote yes (guardian.co.uk)
• Coalition ‘love-in’ over as Chris Huhne and George Osborne go to war over AV (dailymail.co.uk)

This week’s by-election results: Burnley and Southwark

Burnley BC, Rosegrove with Lowerhouse:

Lab 521 (43.1; +11.8)
BNP 288 (23.8; +5.5)
LD Kate Mottershead 261 (21.6; -11.8)
Con 81 (6.7; -10.2)
Ind 58 (4.8; +4.8)
Majority 233
Turnout 25%
Lab gain from LD

Southwark LBC, Brunswick Park:

Lab 1981 (65.1; +13.3)

LD Kate Heywood 630 (20.7; -2.0)

Green 231 (7.6; -6.9)

Con 129 (4.2; -6.7)

Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 70 (2.3; +2.3)

Majority 1351

Turnout 34.2%

Lab hold

Percentage change is since May 2010

via This week’s by-election results: Burnley and Southwark.

 

So, the Liberal Democrats have suffered yet again following their humiliating 6-th place in Barnsley. This time, a pair of councils – Burnley was lost to Labour, and Labour enlarged their lead in Southwark.

Clearly, this is a sign that the Lib Dems are finished, if they are even beaten by the BNP in Burnley.

So fed up am I of the constant stories of the Lib Dems placing poorly, thus naturally meaning that they’re going to lose out big in the next election, that I nearly did’t bother to look at the article on Liberal Democrat Voice.

But I’m glad I did. The actual figures from Burnley and Southwark paint a different picture.

The Lib Dems lost to the BNP…so, why not to the BNP and Tories? That’s my first question. Secondly, how badly did they do to stay in exactly the same place in Southwark.

Looking at Burnley’s results, we can see that the Tories did almost as poorly as the Liberal Democrats – losing 10.2% versus the LDs’ 11.8% Labour gained the same as the Liberal Democrats, 11.8%, the BNP went up by 5.5% and an Independent got 4.8%. But surely this points, not to the Liberal Democrats failing miserably, but the coalition suffering from being in government. The Liberal Democrat’s traditionally always relied on the protest vote, with that unavailable to them, of course they’ll sink in the polls. But this clearly shows, not that the Liberal Democrats are failing, but that Labour are succeeding. Mostly just by criticising, and saying how they’d have done things different.  They haven’t had a chance under Miliband to screw things up disastrously.

This is reinforced in Southwark – Labour gained a huge 13% of the vote, but the Liberal Democrats only lost 2%. The remainder was lost by the Greens (6.9%) and the Conservatives (6.7%). The addition of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition getting 2.3% just goes to show that this is a resurgence of the left, at the expense of the Tories, and more generally the Coalition, rather than the final nail in the coffin of the Liberal Democrat party.

Don’t write us off yet. Clearly, we’re holding on. Now, we have to start climbing.