The Libdems have been soul searching of late. Lord Oakeshott went a little further than head-rubbing introspection or offering empty phrases involving learning the lessons of the elections. He roguishly commissioned a small and biting poll which suggested that the party would get more support if Nick left. That backfired a little and he ended up leaving, to the happy cheerios of other Libdems. The outcome – with top Libdems having to pledge their allegiance to the Clegg – seems to be that, whether they like it or not, they're all stuck with him through the next election. What does it all mean?
I voted for the Liberal Democrats at the last general election. Like many of my naive peers, I didn't have a great knowledge of their values beyond the great word 'liberal'. I hadn't read the Orange Book. (Had I read it, I wouldn't be particularly surprised about their homely residence alongside the Tories.) Instead, I thought they were a centre left party which understood the difficulties of being marginalised, like many normal people are, because they were perpetually on the margins of the House of Commons. One suspects, foolishly perhaps, that a party which never gets into power keeps itself going because it believes in something, as opposed to the two main parties which shift and lie and deceive in order to hang on their power.
Well they leapt at the chance of real power without so much as a blink, reneging on the promises which earnt them their valuable votes, but more worryingly, supporting privatisation of NHS and the Royal Mail, supporting the punitive cuts on welfare, failing to reform finance, and having the gall to say that the economic recovery is good for us (good for whom?) and hence it's all OK. Being 'liberal' added up to telling the poor people who were being punished that "it's not your fault", thereby providing the only distinction to the Conservatives who naturally assume that poverty and wealth are deserved where they are found, and the poor are to blame for most things.
Then there's Europe. The Libdems are unashamedly the only party of 'in'. They're also the only party that fails to even attempt to make an argument in favour of the EU, or even attempt to outline what the EU does. Clegg's all about the party of in, not out, the party of forward, not backwards, the party of up, not down, the party of for, not against... Such a porridge of empty words coming out of Nick's preciously sincere face makes him look like a complete turnip, and something of a fear-mongering turnip at that. That's not an inspirational argument: fear-politics is anathema to the few dedicated souls who are still listening when Nick talks; fear-politics is what has already drawn many voters to the dark side. Perhaps Europe is an emotional debate, and it's the hearts that have to be one instead of the minds, but hearts and minds are united in nausea with Clegg's patronising European leg-humping.
And that's all the one can say about them. They make no difference to government, and they don't articulate an argument for Europe. They've lost the votes of the young, many of whom were just getting politicised and now have crept back into apathy after the post-crash protests petered out. The ones who've kept voting have sought out the Greens or local socialists or the new Left Unity for a real left wing vote, or, somewhat tragically but understandably, Ukip. Did the Libdems sell out, or are we seeing the truth behind the yellow mask? A dying few are continuing to care what the real answer is.
Tactically, replacing Clegg probably would give them a boost, because he's become the figurehead of Libdem hypocrisy (unfairly, on some occasions), but it won't be enough to convince this sorry slither of disenfranchised electorate to wave any yellow flags any time soon.
