I’ve voted for each of the main UK political parties
at one time or another. Often it has depended on where I lived. Sometimes I’ve
voted tactically, sometimes not. I’ve tried to keep this blog and my tweets
reasonably neutral with regard to UK party politics. I genuinely hope that each of the Better
Together parties does well in Scotland, for that is our best chance of
defeating the Nationalists. However, I have already made it clear that I am
supporting the Lib Dems in Gordon, as I think that Christine Jardine has the
only hope of defeating Alex Salmond here.
I’ve never been a member of the Lib Dems. Over the
years I’ve agreed with some of their ideas and disagreed with others. I’ve neither been a supporter, nor have I
particularly been an opponent. However, as opinion poll support for the Lib
Dems has declined nationally over the past few years I find my opinion of them
has steadily improved. One of the main
reasons why I’m supporting the Lib Dems in Gordon is that I think their record
in Government deserves it.
It’s not always easy to remember where we were five
years ago. We’d just had the worst financial crisis since the 1930s and many
economic commentators were predicting huge economic difficulties for Britain.
Markets were becoming very wobbly. Some commentators were predicting a
sovereign debt crisis. We had an election and the result was indecisive. It was
fairly clear however, that the mood of the country as a whole was that Labour
and Gordon Brown had had their chance and that it was time for change. I have
no idea what would have happened if the Lib Dems had formed a coalition with
Labour. Would that have been a good result for the economy or the country as a
whole? Who knows? But there isn’t much point anyway arguing about what might
have been. The fact is the Lib Dems formed a coalition with the Conservatives. Has
it been successful?
It was obvious almost from the beginning that the
markets preferred a Lib Dem/Conservative coalition even to the Conservatives
ruling on their own. One of the reasons for this, is that senior Lib Dems
immediately made it clear that they understood the extent of the economic
crisis facing our country. Once it became apparent that the Lib Dems were
intending to put country before party and rule in the national interest,
supporting policies that they might otherwise have opposed, the coalition form
of government became a source of strength rather than weakness.
It is in this context, above all, that voters today
must understand the manifesto pledges that the Lib Dems made prior to the 2010
election. No party that enters a
coalition government can keep all of its manifesto promises. Each party has to
compromise. But it’s also fair to say that prior to entering Government neither
the Lib Dems nor the Conservatives were fully aware of the extent of the
economic problems facing our country. Did any of us really realise that cupboard
was quite as empty as it was? It was no doubt genuinely a surprise for the incoming Chief Secretary to the
Treasury to receive a note from his predecessor saying ''I'm afraid to tell you there's no money left.”
With the responsibility of Government the Lib Dems
had to make hard choices. They had to do things they did not want to do. They
could have ducked all of these tough decisions if they had simply decided to
remain in opposition. But they saw that the country was in trouble economically
and preferred to lend a hand. I’d always far prefer to have a party and a
politician in Government who was willing to do what was right rather than what
was easy. Wouldn’t you?
Much of the business of Government is dull. There
have been some education reforms, some welfare reforms. Some of these have been
popular, some less so. It will take time, perhaps decades before we fully see
the results. Some progress, though less than hoped, has been made on the
deficit. Consequently the national debt has increased. But the UK has the best
rate of growth in the world among major economies and there is something of a
job creation miracle going on. People from all over Europe are coming here
precisely because the UK has the jobs which other countries do not. There is
some way to go, but our economy is well on the way to recovery and if we keep
on like this within a relatively short time we’ll have a surplus rather than a
deficit. This didn’t happen accidentally. It happened in part because the Lib
Dems made hard choices for the good of everyone.
For as long as I can remember, Lib Dems have sought
to change the voting system. There was a referendum in 2011. Given the
alternatives on offer the UK public decided to stick with the present system.
To their immense credit the Lib Dems accepted the democratic wishes of the
electorate. They didn’t create an enormous fuss. They accepted their
disappointment and got on with the job of running the country. For this, and the mere fact that they've been working with the Conservatives the Lib Dems have seen their polling numbers crash. Lib Dems might be forgiven for asking whether
it was worth it.
If you’re a Lib Dem supporter, it looks rather as if
Government has turned out to be a catastrophe. The party goes into the next
election much weaker than the last. But if you’re an ordinary British citizen,
you should be grateful that the Lib Dems joined the Government in 2010. The
country is in an incomparably better shape today than it was then. This was not
inevitable. We can see what poor Governments and poor political decisions have
done to some of our colleagues in the EU. The Lib Dems have achieved more in the
past five years than at any time since the days of David Lloyd George. They
have made a major contribution to a helping the UK get back on its feet. Not
only that, they played a significant part in defeating the greatest threat to
the existence of the UK in centuries by helping us to achieve a No vote in the independence referendum. Lots
of Lib Dem politicians have made crucial contributions to Government. It is
frankly ludicrous that polls should suggest that someone of the calibre of
Danny Alexander is in danger of losing his seat to an SNP member of the Highland Council. The UK has benefited from having people like Mr Alexander in
Government. It has benefited from having the Lib Dems in power for the first
time in decades.
Britain may well soon have another coalition
government. The Lib Dems have shown that parties can work together for the good
of all. Whichever of Labour or the Conservatives forms the largest party in the
next parliament, I would far rather see the Lib Dems as their partners than any
party on the extremes. The last thing
Britain needs is being held to ransom by parties with policies which would
damage all of our prosperity. In Scotland there are a number of constituencies
where only the Lib Dems can defeat the SNP. Those candidates if elected will
contribute positively to the running of our country, rather than try to wreck
it. Christine Jardine, Danny Alexander and others would be assets not only to the Lib
Dems, but to the country as a whole.
It is my hope that No voters, including those who
support other parties, will vote tactically for the Lib Dems. But if they
should also look a little more closely at the Lib Dem record in Government,
they will find positive reasons to vote for the party as well. The Lib Dems
arrived in Government at one of the more difficult times in recent history.
They will leave Government with our country in an improved condition. No party
can do more. It’s a record to be proud
of.
If you like my writing, please follow the link to my book Scarlet on the Horizon.
The first five chapters can be read as a preview.
