What's the Lib Dem getting from the coalition?
Discussion
996c2 said:
Victor McDade said:
Power, and it's rather addictive.
What are they doing with that power though? Apart from the AV referendum, I can't recall any real Lib Dem policy coming out of the coalition so far.
The personal tax-free allowance is supposed to raise to £10,000 by the end of this Parliament.
ID Cards scrapped.
Index-link restored for Pensions (in all 3 manifestos though)
AV referendum (although worthless now)
They share quite a few other policies with Tories (and to a lesser extent Labour too), which would likely be implemented with or without them.
ID Cards scrapped.
Index-link restored for Pensions (in all 3 manifestos though)
AV referendum (although worthless now)
They share quite a few other policies with Tories (and to a lesser extent Labour too), which would likely be implemented with or without them.
rover 623gsi said:
don't forget - the coalition govt is 84% Tory and 16% Lib Dem.
Because Clegg is Deputy PM I think a lot of people have forgotten that this is a Conservative-dominated govt and the Lib Dems are very much the junior partner and so they are not really going to get that much out of it
Fair enough but the Lib Dem is getting 80+% of the blame for the unpopular policies!Because Clegg is Deputy PM I think a lot of people have forgotten that this is a Conservative-dominated govt and the Lib Dems are very much the junior partner and so they are not really going to get that much out of it
From the above, it does seem that the Lib Dem had got a few of their policies through but they must be piss poor at selling themselves if I, as an average voter, can't remember it.
Saying that you are preventing the worse of the Tory right wing excesses is too vague and I don't think will get through to the average voter. The Lib Dem need something more concrete. £10k tax free allowance is good but maybe not enough to save them.
TBH I think a lot of the Lib Dem hype was nothing more than a vocal minority in the first place. They managed to get a decent chunk of students and under 30's swept up in it with the promise to make sure tuition fees wouldn't go up and then failed, so all the people that got carried away with the hype are now disillusioned.
Like someone said above, they're getting a dose of reality. Being in power in the middle of a recession means making a lot of difficult and unpopular decisions. The Tories are used to it, they keep their mouths shut and get on with the job. The Lib Dems have people like Vince Cable who go running to the press to whine about it and then it backfires on them, people read the words "Lib Dems" and "cuts" in a sentence together and instantly think the Lib Dems are responsible for funding cuts.
Like someone said above, they're getting a dose of reality. Being in power in the middle of a recession means making a lot of difficult and unpopular decisions. The Tories are used to it, they keep their mouths shut and get on with the job. The Lib Dems have people like Vince Cable who go running to the press to whine about it and then it backfires on them, people read the words "Lib Dems" and "cuts" in a sentence together and instantly think the Lib Dems are responsible for funding cuts.
996c2 said:
Apart from being blamed for all the unpopular decisions and thrashed in the poll, what's the Lib Dem getting from climbing into bed with the Tory?
I guess they can't leave the coalition now as they will fair even worse if a general election is called.
The whole raison d'etre of the Lib Dems is that we should be moving toward a more proportional system where coalition governments are the norm.I guess they can't leave the coalition now as they will fair even worse if a general election is called.
The results of the last election meant we needed to have a coalition, or a re-election, if the Lib Dems had refused to enter into a coalition with the Conservatives then their whole reason for existing would be open to question.
As to what they have gained policy wise from the coalition.
Probably the biggest impact is raising personal allowances to £10K (though Tories are not averse to tax cuts themselves). Another important theme is localism which is as important to the Lib Dems as the Tories.
It is a shame that what they are achieving in terms of their own policy agenda is overshadowed by talk of 'Tory cuts' (which any party would have to be doing unless they want to end up calling in the IMF) and Tutition fees (which is an issue not worth the political storm it provoked for the Lib Dems).
JagLover said:
It is a shame that what they are achieving in terms of their own policy agenda is overshadowed by talk of 'Tory cuts' (which any party would have to be doing unless they want to end up calling in the IMF) and Tutition fees (which is an issue not worth the political storm it provoked for the Lib Dems).
Unfortunately the Lib Dem made a rod for their own back when they made a pledge to abolish Tuition fees and then agreed a compromise to triple it! They should have seen this storm coming and negotiated a better deal.But you're right, if they didn't enter a coalition in a hung parliament then they would have had no reason to exist.
It should be remembered that the plan all along is to get all the horrible medicine over with as quickly as possible in the first two/three years of this Parliament then to use by then hopefully recovered economy to fund all the new things such as tax cuts and other electoral bribes in time for the election.
There's nothing the Lib Dems can do now but stay in the Coalition and hope that the plan prevents complete electoral wipeout in 2015.
There's nothing the Lib Dems can do now but stay in the Coalition and hope that the plan prevents complete electoral wipeout in 2015.
DieselGriff said:
mybrainhurts said:
They got their green guff off the ground with Chris Huhne in charge...
You don't think the green stuff is Lib Dem induced do you?LibDems are more intense about this stuff than Cameron.
Not much at the moment, but they are their own worst enemies in many ways. Dave has them exactly where he wants them now: weakened by too much loose talk (Cable), hoisted by their own petard with students (Clegg) and mortally wounded by the loss of their pet project, AV. The Tories are in the ascendant now. Labour are heading into IDS territory with Red Ed and the Libs have lost their left leaners and crusty vote. If Dave can keep the centrists onside and keep the Tory faithful happy then once the boundaries are equalised and the economy is stable he'll go to the country. Labour will pile up votes in the safe seats but Tony's Tories in middle England will stick with Dave.
Salmond and Dave will cook up some pantomime over the union but ultimately Dave will let it go if it comes to it. The prize = Labour unable form a majority ever again. With the Libs on the floor Dave 10-15 years in power.
Maybe.
Salmond and Dave will cook up some pantomime over the union but ultimately Dave will let it go if it comes to it. The prize = Labour unable form a majority ever again. With the Libs on the floor Dave 10-15 years in power.
Maybe.
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