David Laws: “The Lib Dems must work harder to show that their policies are progressive”
The demise of the Liberal Democrats has been widely anticipated in recent months. Expect more gloomy predictions to come. Lib Dems are used to this: we have been written off more times than a piece of Latin American debt. Forecasts of the party’s demise will be as ill-judged on this occasion as they have been over many a decade.
Indeed, with the upcoming referendum on how this country chooses its government, the party has a real opportunity to reform the political system and deliver fairer representation in parliament.
One of the key reasons for Nick Clegg‘s appeal during the televised leadership debates was that he reached across party boundaries: touching on issues people cared about regardless of their political allegiances. “I agree with Nick” was repeated so frequently that it became a campaign slogan. Now, on the decision over the alternative vote (AV), the Lib Dems can once again work with people of all political views in the best interests of the country, just as we are in this coalition government.
The arguments for changing our voting system are strong: people want more choice and control. It is no longer good enough that so many citizens have to vote for the candidates who are not their first choice, simply because they know that otherwise their vote will be irrelevant. The alternative vote gives more power to voters, and ensures that MPs cannot just get elected on the basis of minority support at the ballot box. Making the case for this reform will help reconnect the party with voters. Our own figures show that the referendum on AV is very winnable indeed, and that the more people understand the new system, the more they like it.
It’s worth noting, too, the other factors the Lib Dems already have in their favour. The party was very united over the decision to form a coalition government—because, quite frankly, no other credible option existed for the party or the country. To maintain a minority government, under Gordon Brown or any other Labour leader, would have been impossible, and was not what the Labour party or the public seemed to want. Second, Lib Dems are now active and influential in government. Such influence is a refreshing contrast to the past 70 or 80 years of national irrelevance the party has suffered.
And while Lib Dem poll ratings are down, the mid January by-election result in Oldham East and Saddleworth suggests the polls are exaggerating our loss of support.
The truth is that the coalition works better—far better—than anyone thought possible. The Lib Dems are not some token add-on: we are central to all the key decisions that are taken. There have been no big public rows, nor briefing against each coalition party. And make no mistake: the strategy of both parties “owning” the coalition decisions is not going to change.
But a challenge arises from this success: how can the Lib Dems retain a clear identity and visibility? One result of coalition unity is that our own party identity has been partially obscured. Going forward, the Lib Dems need to focus on how we show voters what we are delivering.
How do you do this? Manufacturing artificial rows would soon damage the coalition. But, if the overall strategy is not going to change, expect to hear more from the Lib Dems about our own achievements, starting with the big increase in the personal income tax allowance this April.
The second big issue in 2011 is going to be economic policy. Here, we need to hold our nerve. We might have got some flak for signing up to the modest in-year spending cuts in 2010, but this was one of the best decisions we have taken so far. The cuts were economically modest, but symbolically crucial. They demonstrated to the markets that the coalition could be trusted on tough economic decisions, which removed the risk of the Greek crisis spreading to our shores, and helped lower the cost of government borrowing. Today’s spending cuts are necessarily large, but will be spread carefully over five years, and will in part be offset by interest rates being lower than they would otherwise be, had the government not tackled the deficit early on.
Our role must be to support this overall strategy, while demonstrating how the burdens are being fairly shared across society. Every effort has been made to do this (with higher capital gains tax, a banking levy, the £2.5bn pupil premium, a higher personal tax allowance, and an exemption from the pay freeze for lower-paid public sector workers). But these progressive policies are too easily drowned out in the media by the spectre of overall spending cuts, so we must work even harder to show how what we are doing is fair and progressive—and to make sure that it is. And Nick Clegg must use his coalition lead-role on social mobility to ensure that our country is a place in which people from all backgrounds can succeed in life.
We must also play a central role in the campaign for a fairer voting system. Securing a “yes” vote in the AV referendum is crucial. The party must sell this case with conviction, enthusiasm and a real belief that we can win.
The demise of the Liberal Democrats has been widely anticipated in recent months. Expect more gloomy predictions to come. Lib Dems are used to this: we have been written off more times than a piece of Latin American debt. Forecasts of the party’s demise will be as ill-judged on this occasion as they have been over many a decade.
Indeed, with the upcoming referendum on how this country chooses its government, the party has a real opportunity to reform the political system and deliver fairer representation in parliament.
One of the key reasons for Nick Clegg‘s appeal during the televised leadership debates was that he reached across party boundaries: touching on issues people cared about regardless of their political allegiances. “I agree with Nick” was repeated so frequently that it became a campaign slogan. Now, on the decision over the alternative vote (AV), the Lib Dems can once again work with people of all political views in the best interests of the country, just as we are in this coalition government.
The arguments for changing our voting system are strong: people want more choice and control. It is no longer good enough that so many citizens have to vote for the candidates who are not their first choice, simply because they know that otherwise their vote will be irrelevant. The alternative vote gives more power to voters, and ensures that MPs cannot just get elected on the basis of minority support at the ballot box. Making the case for this reform will help reconnect the party with voters. Our own figures show that the referendum on AV is very winnable indeed, and that the more people understand the new system, the more they like it.
It’s worth noting, too, the other factors the Lib Dems already have in their favour. The party was very united over the decision to form a coalition government—because, quite frankly, no other credible option existed for the party or the country. To maintain a minority government, under Gordon Brown or any other Labour leader, would have been impossible, and was not what the Labour party or the public seemed to want. Second, Lib Dems are now active and influential in government. Such influence is a refreshing contrast to the past 70 or 80 years of national irrelevance the party has suffered.
And while Lib Dem poll ratings are down, the mid January by-election result in Oldham East and Saddleworth suggests the polls are exaggerating our loss of support.
The truth is that the coalition works better—far better—than anyone thought possible. The Lib Dems are not some token add-on: we are central to all the key decisions that are taken. There have been no big public rows, nor briefing against each coalition party. And make no mistake: the strategy of both parties “owning” the coalition decisions is not going to change.
But a challenge arises from this success: how can the Lib Dems retain a clear identity and visibility? One result of coalition unity is that our own party identity has been partially obscured. Going forward, the Lib Dems need to focus on how we show voters what we are delivering.
How do you do this? Manufacturing artificial rows would soon damage the coalition. But, if the overall strategy is not going to change, expect to hear more from the Lib Dems about our own achievements, starting with the big increase in the personal income tax allowance this April.
The second big issue in 2011 is going to be economic policy. Here, we need to hold our nerve. We might have got some flak for signing up to the modest in-year spending cuts in 2010, but this was one of the best decisions we have taken so far. The cuts were economically modest, but symbolically crucial. They demonstrated to the markets that the coalition could be trusted on tough economic decisions, which removed the risk of the Greek crisis spreading to our shores, and helped lower the cost of government borrowing. Today’s spending cuts are necessarily large, but will be spread carefully over five years, and will in part be offset by interest rates being lower than they would otherwise be, had the government not tackled the deficit early on.
Our role must be to support this overall strategy, while demonstrating how the burdens are being fairly shared across society. Every effort has been made to do this (with higher capital gains tax, a banking levy, the £2.5bn pupil premium, a higher personal tax allowance, and an exemption from the pay freeze for lower-paid public sector workers). But these progressive policies are too easily drowned out in the media by the spectre of overall spending cuts, so we must work even harder to show how what we are doing is fair and progressive—and to make sure that it is. And Nick Clegg must use his coalition lead-role on social mobility to ensure that our country is a place in which people from all backgrounds can succeed in life.
We must also play a central role in the campaign for a fairer voting system. Securing a “yes” vote in the AV referendum is crucial. The party must sell this case with conviction, enthusiasm and a real belief that we can win.
