Voting Liberal Democrats on the 6th May
Good afternoon everyone,
I have chosen today, while procrastinating on an increasingly dry essay about the essence of development control in the UK, to announce (much in a fashion akin to our newspapers) my support for political parties in the election. I may only be reaching my first ever national election but I’ve long had a view on political matters outside the work environment. I’ve usually tied to the Conservative Party on many occasions and was for a long while including voting locally in Sheffield (even if it made little difference here), because I hold many views that are traditional in nature and I am keen to protect rural affairs, something I see the tories as being advantageous in achieving. I consider myself as a one nation conservative biased towards the centre rather than the right, focussing on civil liberties. But I recognise a lot of the background to other viewpoints within the tories is over a compulsive tory desire to favour those on a higher income. It is a very divided political party.
For the election on May 6th I have decided to vote for Liberal Democrats. No party in the running explicitly wows me, although a few consistently anger me (British National Party, UKIP and the Monster Raving Loony Party, to name but a few).
Why have I made this decision?
I took a long and hard look over the past couple of years and assessed who I had the most trust in, and while the Conservatives under Cameron (but particularly Osborne) had faced a degradation of my trust, the Labour and Lib Dem outlook had risen susbstantially. It was a mixture of the expenses/banks scandal, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, pursuit of ID cards and a lax immigration policy that particularly took me off the Labour consideration but the mire of additional University places and targets for 50% to go to University+ forcing it into a “production line of education” was the final straw. I do however strongly promote the positive values of the Labour Party in the SureStart childrens centres, NHS, social housing methods and a lot of the reforms to Town Planning that have took place. I disagree with the Conservatives and Lib Dems that centralisation to planning has been an inherently bad thing, and I support the introduction of the Infrastructure Planning Commission. But poor Gordon Brown is saddled with the dregs of Blair’s reign. Blair too is one fundamental reason why New Labour is not a preference to me, I have severe distaste in such an unjust profiteer and it has unfortunately tainted the reputation of his successor. After all lest not forget that Mr Brown was very central to Blair’s successes and failures being Mr Moneybags at the time…
I support the Liberal Democrats for this election with a word of caution, a premise of trying something new, and that if it does not work out I will expect to be very disappointed. But if we don’t try and see whether their values work by doing the usual “oh they will not win here so I won’t bother voting for them” then we will never change from the same old drivvle. I say that with caution as well – we know that Liberal Democrats are not an extreme party with specific threats so I feel open to say ‘try something new’.
I support them because of a favour to end the Trident programme that we strategically cannot afford and do not need. I am pleased with their views on disability and with that being such a large proportion of my work remit I am happy to support the Lib Dems more than any other party in establishing schools that are more integrated for special educational needs than now. I am for their proposals to increase tax on aviation and wealthy estates to fund a dismissal of income tax for those earning under 10,000 pounds. While I find University is becoming a production line, with endless Labour policy of increasing the numbers and devaluing higher education, I see an increasing difficulty over tuition fees among the student population and the Liberal Democrats are the only party specifically saying what they will do clearly (to eradicate such a policy). It may take 6 years but this is a considerable investment to take back on the government’s side and I abstain on this with caution. I personally think that I should have to pay for University (though not as much as current fees or what the Browne Review may state) but I know my opinion is in a minority of interests. But the rise of numbers at university dilute the benefits of getting a higher wage (greater competition in jobs etc) and any tuition fee rises will ensure (regardless of the small amount paid each month) that people will be paying off debt for an entire eternity. I am fiercely against finance deals and it is on this basis that I reject tuition fee rises. I also reject free higher education. But the other parties weaknesses has ensured I can forgo lib dems on this matter, and in the next 4 years I might well vote differently.
The idea to abolish the Child Trust Fund is a good idea because there were many children who missed out when the system was introduced and it created an unnecessary divide between those who had the fund and those ill prepared without it. We need empty homes to be resolved as many are simply sitting there rotting, and I see that the Liberal Democrats are the only party to really mention this properly. Finally I think that their plans for the restructure of the Royal Mail and the Post Office are a sensible compromise between privatising the whole interests and taking on the burden of deep difficulties within Royal Mail. I was for the change in working practices but against a lot of post office closures and strikes and this policy may maintain some confidence after the company returned to profit over the last year.
But I appreciate that the Lib Dems are far from perfect as well – I vehemently oppose their somewhat idiotic preference towards adopting the Euro and increasing EU powers on crime/terror/employment matters. But I accept that the EU has been good for some things, particularly in the arena of Environmental protection – it would be foolish to do away with the directives imposed on our aviation, our carbon emissions, and so forth (even though it requires further thought and urgency). I show distasted at their priority to allow illegal immigrants the right to stay after being here for 10 year unnoticed, even if it is a failure of the government to recognise it. But I support the regionalisation of immigration policy to divert economic attention to where it is needed.
Why have I lost faith in the Conservatives?
Look below and I’m sure you will find the answer…
- The reason why the Conservatives have put me off
I believe that certain figures in the party are single handedly, apart from the odd homophobic or foreign bank account traditionalist tory (5 of whom I count in newspapers), ruining the efforts of the Conservative Party, which I feel are good in many ways. In 2005 when Cameron took leadership I had far higher hopes than I do now – the supposed ‘modernisation’ of the party was a bold and approved way forward to challenge the stuffy and inappropriate morals of the party that were a residue of the Thatcher reign. I also really agreed with the reappointment of William Hague to a higher role in Parliament. But I am a person that very much relies on trust and expressions of leadership, and while I am in agreement with many of the vote for change policies (referendum on EU, avoiding the Euro, expansion of surestart, reduction of immigration to a lower level, married couples/civil partnerships a tax break) there is a lot wrong with the way they are conveyed with Cameron and Osborne, there is not enough clout there and the reforms aren’t as radical as first promised. Additionally, there are a lot of wayward ‘golden oldie’ traditionalists in the Conservative Party that are intent on undoing the move to more centrist policy aims, and I really don’t like that.
There is no sense of conviction, trust, or honesty in their language. What they say brings an aura of slyness and worry, and that is a great shame because my principles still tie strongly with the party. I find less slyness and worry in what Mr Clegg or Mr Brown say, even if I do get bored of the statistitian view from the latter about jobs left, right and centre. I sense there is always a lack of information from the party (yes all are guilty of this, but the Tories bring more suspicion to the issue, even vagueness of the Lincolnshire Independents in my local area is more open). I was particularly put off from 2009 when the first issues during the recession were brought up by the Tories on public spending and Mr Osborne refused to answer questions effectively. This is something that both Labour and Conservative parties are particularly guilty of. Remember the Jack Straw monstrosity in the Nick Griffin question time episode? I do disagree with some of the policies they possess, such as reinforcing segregation between special schools and mainstream schools as this is a backwards step for inclusion. I also oppose a cut of inheritance tax on the richest estates and reject the proposterous idea of a ‘big society’ fund.
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A time may come for me to vote for Conservative once again; a time may come when I might even vote for the Labour party. I am traditionalist by policies, but not necessarily a loyalist. I go by the principles of trust, and giving a fair chance. I found the faux-Obama ‘change’ speeches from the Conservative Party boring, but only because the change was not that radical, and I don’t find it in Gordon “I’ve had to pick up the nasty bits of the Blair years while he’s buggered off to make money out of it” Brown. Should the Tories go full hog, abandon the old hat veterans of the party that spring nasty surprises in the news that go against the Cameron modernisation, and should the wayward culture that appears more vociferous under the current tories be reduced, then i’d be prepared to vote for them.
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I am not jumping on a Clegg bandwagon. Indeed I am sick of this X-Factor reality show esque “Clegg factor”, “Clegg Mania” nonsense appearing on our television screens, but the actual reality is that the Liberal Democrats have long been second fiddle (but not last) in my values and beliefs, and recently the gap has closed and the Tories have been superseded. Ask me in 2008 and I would have been Conservative; ask me in 2009 and I would have been Conservative; ask me in 2010 and I am cautiously Liberal Democrat.
Thanks for looking
Chrisadvisor 
