The Liberal Democrats claim to be the party of devolution and federalism. Yet their actions do not always bear this out. This is not English chauvinism (that's the Tories) but it is thoughtlessness, which is so sadly characteristic of our neighbours to the South when it comes to Scottish matters.
In 1992, Paddy Ashdown, the then Lib Dem Leader, faced the embarassment of a matter of his private life being brought into the public domain. I shall not comment further on the nature of that matter since, in my view, it was no one else's business. He applied for and gained an injunction from the English courts banning publication. This would have worked except he forgot that Scotland had a separate legal system and an interdict (even the terminology is different) was require here too. Anyway the Scottish press ran the story and the matter became public.
Nick Clegg's decision to hold the referendum on (partial) voting reform for Westminster on the same day as the Scottish and Welsh general elections shows the same lack of foresight. Just imagine turning on the TV to have a party election broadcast then followed by a referendum broadcast from the YES or NO campaign about an entirely different parliament. Imagine also two totally separate sets of TV and radio debates. The whole thing is just messy and badly thought out.
Friday 2 July 2010
Our Freedom!
Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister of the UK, has today put up a new website, in which members of the public can recomend the repeal of unnecessary laws. it is called 'Your Freedom'. Well, the top of my list is the Act of Union of 1707. Someone has got there first and I recommend that everyone post a short message in support as I have done. You will find it at:
http://yourfreedom.hmg.gov.uk/repealing-unnecessary-laws/repeal-the-act-of-union-1652-1707-1800
http://yourfreedom.hmg.gov.uk/repealing-unnecessary-laws/repeal-the-act-of-union-1652-1707-1800
Thursday 1 July 2010
The Wisdom of Bjorn and Benny
I remember as a teenager the Conservatives' election victory in 1979 and watching in horror the destruction they wreaked on the economy and society generally. As we view the situation today, I could quote Hagel or even Marx but, there again, neither ever won the Eurovision Song Contest. Abba did and in the words of their successful 1974 entry "The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself."
The then government's main priority was reducing inflation, which was blamed on the previous Labour government. A rise in VAT, cuts in benefits and public services and the subsequent inevitable rise in unemployment were a price worth paying. Failure to address inflation with obsessive zeal would result in economic chaos. There was no alternative. In hindsight, although inflation was a problem, they went far to far and unnecessarily destroyed huge chunks of economic capacity in the process. Now, replace 'inflation' with 'the deficit' and notice the similarities with the present.
The current administration is often referred to as the 'Coalition Government' but, in a sense, all governments are coalitions since all major political parties are themselves informal coalitions. The 1979 government was no exception. The traditionalist right of the Tory party joined forces with the free-market radicals, the disciples of Milton Friedman, which included Thatcher herself. But she could not govern without the One-nation Tories or Wets as they came to be known. Some such as Carrington and Heseltine went along with the monetarist experiment as it was then called. Others such as Gilmour, St. John-Stevas, Pym and Prior mounted a totally ineffective internal opposition and were cast into the wilderness.
There are very few One-nation Tories left. Their role is now played by the Lib Dems. The Orange-book Liberals led by Nick Clegg will, I suspect, go along with the deficit reduction dogma. Other elements in the Lib-Dems may try to oppose but without any serious effect.
And what of the Labour Party? Will it tear itself apart as it did in the eighties? I watch with interest.
The then government's main priority was reducing inflation, which was blamed on the previous Labour government. A rise in VAT, cuts in benefits and public services and the subsequent inevitable rise in unemployment were a price worth paying. Failure to address inflation with obsessive zeal would result in economic chaos. There was no alternative. In hindsight, although inflation was a problem, they went far to far and unnecessarily destroyed huge chunks of economic capacity in the process. Now, replace 'inflation' with 'the deficit' and notice the similarities with the present.
The current administration is often referred to as the 'Coalition Government' but, in a sense, all governments are coalitions since all major political parties are themselves informal coalitions. The 1979 government was no exception. The traditionalist right of the Tory party joined forces with the free-market radicals, the disciples of Milton Friedman, which included Thatcher herself. But she could not govern without the One-nation Tories or Wets as they came to be known. Some such as Carrington and Heseltine went along with the monetarist experiment as it was then called. Others such as Gilmour, St. John-Stevas, Pym and Prior mounted a totally ineffective internal opposition and were cast into the wilderness.
There are very few One-nation Tories left. Their role is now played by the Lib Dems. The Orange-book Liberals led by Nick Clegg will, I suspect, go along with the deficit reduction dogma. Other elements in the Lib-Dems may try to oppose but without any serious effect.
And what of the Labour Party? Will it tear itself apart as it did in the eighties? I watch with interest.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)