More like Simon Poohes

A moment of (pointless) direct action.

Dear Mr. Hughes,​

As a student from Goldsmiths College you are my most local Liberal Democrat MP. I, along with all those my age who I know - mostly students - voted for the Liberal Democrats in the previous election. Most of those had been voting Liberal Democrat since they were eligible to vote. It was not merely the pledge to refuse to accept rising tuition fees (which, as we now know, was a farce) or the promise of new, more trustworthy era of politics (again, another farce) which secured the vote of the younger generation for the Lib Dems. It was the growing number of people in this country who believe in equality, fairness and progress - all those things churned out with the liberal rhetoric now shown to be hollow - that secured the limited but important slice of power that your party now hold. These people still hold these convictions but are now understandably disillusioned. I now know of no one who will vote Liberal Democrats either in my generation, where they all previously did, or older generations, which didn't vote Lib Dem anyway.

If nothing else, however, the actions of your party have politicised a generation at an unprecedented level - firstly with the televised debates and the subsequent frenzy, and then with the u-turns and Tory policies which now lurk in your shadows. This politicised generation, for good or bad, will send the Lib Dems to their grave, both for their failure to hold true to the liberal ideology which encouraged such support, and their lack of political conviction. This has been brought to the fore in the wake of the abstaining voters. Surely there is no place in politics for those who can't make up their mind? Not that that's the case, for we all know that abstaining is a purely tactical move designed to maintain a fragile coalition. This has to be condemned (no pun intended) as spineless. Opposition to a proposal should be expressed in a way which actually opposes it, not actively allows it to pass. In your Evening Standard article today you claim to have opposed the measures, by abstaining as agreed, yet you also seem to think Vince Cable's education package is pretty great. The other oversight in this article I will point out is your assertion that 'the next six months will be easier'. I can't see this being the case.

Yours Sincerely,

F.I.P

for Simon Hughes' apologetic, read http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23905910-simon-hughes-why-i-abstained-in-tuition-fees-vote.do