There are a few things, I must confess, that make my stomach churn. One is the idea of sharing a bed with David Cameron and propping up a Tory government. Now, I am quite prepared to be educated by the great and the good as to why I am wrong, but I am sorry, there is a limit and however "nice" Cameron may appear, his is the pretty, deceptive top of a hidden iceberg which is old Toryism. What we see is not what we will get.
So imagine my horror to discover this morning that Chris Huhne had told the Torygraph of his willingness to jump into bed with said Mr C. No wonder they are trumpeting their analysis that he has the activists' support! Wow, what a gift to the Tories, they may not win outright, but if they are lucky enough to get a Huhne victory, the world will be their oyster!
Chris told them, "I am used to coalition politics in the European parliament, it's in my comfort zone, I could go with either side. First they would have to agree to change the current voting system, you can't have a few marginals having such a dramatic effect on British politics, and second you can't have the Prime Minister deciding when to call an election."
So, I wonder what other price Chris would extract to sell our soul? Of course, a change in the voting system is something we all support, but at what cost? What will we compromise on, what will be our bottom line? I think this is an incredibly dangerous position for Chris to take. There are many many people out there who are liberal and support our policies but who would rather stay with a discredited Labour government than run the risk of letting the Tories back in by the back door.
11 comments:
And if a Tory platform is more liberal than a Labour one?
I think you read far too much into this. They have both consistently said that a coalition, if it happens, must be on the basis of pretty fundamental constitutional change, especially in the voting system, which would mean it would be unlikely to last much longer than getting such a change through before it became a different type of politics.
One thing I would hate to see is a knee jerk party that says we'll never do a deal with the Tories (because we do at a local level just as much as we do with Labour or others - possibly moreso) and would prop up a Labour government whom the population had voted against, but just not quite enough to give the Tories an outright victory. That would be, in many ways, anti-democratic.
I personally prefer the third way, which Chris has suggested would be his favourite "fantasy coalition", for example in that Question Time hust, where we might be of a sufficient size to force the two sides of the Boss Party to deal with each other and us be the opposition.
I don't see the big deal myself. Is there anything Huhne has said here that differs greatly from what Clegg has said during the campaign? As for PR I think both the Tories and Labour will sell their soul before conceding it to us so it's probably all academic anyway.
As for Chris Almighty his (or her) vendetta against Huhne seems a bit pointless and divisive. If you haven't sent in your vote yet I wouldn't leave later than Monday
(2nd class envelope/Christmas post).
It is obvious that if politics is to proceed as we want, coalition government is going to become the norm, as it across much of Europe. When X and Y form a coalition it isn't "letting Y in by the back door" it's forming a government which covers the common ground of X and Y. Why use the language of our stupid opponents who can't understand coalition government?
If we say we will only form a coalition with Labour but never with the Conservatives, we have thrown all our negotiating cards away. Why should Labour offer us anything at all in a coalition deal if we have already said a coalition with them is the only option we'll take?
In the article you quote, Chris isn't saying he'd be "happy" to be in coalition with the Conservatives, just that he wouldn't rule it out.
I'm on the left of the party, but when I was leader of the opposition in Labour-controlled Lewisham, I often worked with the Conservative councillors when we had common criticisms of Labour, I also worked with the Socialist Alliance councillors. That's what practical multi-party politics is about - you work with people when you have common interests, and you recognise there is a job to be done.
Grow up Linda. You might be off to the European Parliament in 18 months time, where you will find that in the rest of Europe the consequence of PR is coalitions, so we either have to accept that or stop bleating on about how unfair the electoral system is. Huhne is not saying anything that Clegg won't have to do in the same situation. By the way, I voted for Clegg, which is probably the only thing we share in common.
Guess your not a fan of Dave Cameron then?
Do I assume that you are supporting Nick (wanna be Cameron) Clegg?
Good. Shows that the rumours that Chris might win are true...
The fact that you allow links to vile, personal insults to be published on your blog really sums up your contribution to the leadership campaign...well done Linda for your postive approach to politics
Linda, You wouldn't even have to get to Europe to see colaition politics in operation. I live in Camden where our award-winning campaigning ended up - yes, with us (as largest party) getting into bed with the Tories, who are now junior partners in a Liberal Democrat led administration. Similar operates, of course, in quite a few other councils, and we all know of instances of Lib-Lab co-operation. To try and turn Chris Huhne's perfectly ordinary remarks into some sort of hideous self-exposure is pathetic nonsense - and really, you should get rid of Chris-Almighty and his associated links.
Linda - Nick made pretty much the exactly the same public statement - so perhaps your headline should read differently?
Lynne
Continued: also I am really dissappointed that you allowed the first comment with its links to anonymous blogs full of smears about Chris Huhne to be published on your blog.
To see Nick's public statement on him working with the Tories use this link.
http://www.politics.co.uk/news/opinion-former-index/energy/clegg-vows-break-two-party-politics-$480654.htm
Lynne
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