Bruce Kent, writing on The Guardian’s Comment is Free blog, argues that Brian Paddick should name his second preference:
"The Lib Dems have earned a reputation for independence and radical politics. If they do not make it quite clear that they understand and reject what Johnson stands for they will be throwing away, not just in London but nationally, a deserved reputation."
(Hat-tip: Jo Christie Smith)
Yes, that’s right, Bruce Kent is arguing that Lib Dems who "have earned a reputation for independence" should name which party they wish to serve as a proxy for (a la the Greens). Words fail to express the level of doublethink this piece of mental gymnastics must require, but let me try for the benefit of my Labour readers:
-
The Liberal Democrats are not an offshoot of the Labour party;
-
We are not part of some glorious progressive tradition that you’re trying to co-opt us into;
-
We believe in individual freedom, you believe in the subjugation of the individual to the state;
-
A person’s second preference vote is a decision for themselves, not a decision to be handed down by party diktat;
-
You’re idiots. I just felt that needed to be said.
Loading ...
11 responses so far ↓
1 amphibious // Apr 29, 2008 at 1:38 pm
“The Liberal Democrats are not an offshoot of the Labour party”
Errr.. unless you prefer to be descended from pillow biters & dog killers, may I suggest Gang of Four, Limehouse Declaration, Lib-Lab Pact, Dr Death and assorted appalling haircuts and.. and.. no point going on.
Let’s look at the future. The LibDems were comprehensively screwed by Blair on PR. If they stand for nothing else, nailing the colours to the mast on PR plus Transferable Preference will earn a grateful & weary nations eternal gratitude. Do NOT, under any torture, agree to the Euro List system.
2 Gavin Whenman // Apr 29, 2008 at 1:43 pm
“pillow biters & dog killers”: What the hell are you talking about? And for that matter - who is Dr Death?
The Lib Dems are the result of a merger between the SDP and the Liberal Party, we are simply not a subsidiary branch of the Labour Party.
PS. And we do stand for a hell of a lot more than PR!
3 amphibious // Apr 29, 2008 at 2:24 pm
My, you must be a youngster. Jeremy Thorpe, noted sodomist etc, tried to shut up his catamite but got the dog instead.
Dr Death was one of the Gang of Four, with Woy, Shirley and i can’t recall the fourth, so profound a thinker/mover/shaer was he.
Something other than PR? Like…?
4 Gavin Whenman // Apr 29, 2008 at 2:39 pm
My, you must be living in the past - topical references from thirty years ago in an attempt to smear the current party?
Other than PR: The abolition of ID cards, local income tax, a rolling-back of the overbearing State (in a “Freedom Bill”), a strong strand of environmentalism with much tougher targets on the reduction of greenhouse gases, a decentralised state with greater decision making closer to the people. I hope this at least in part convinces you that we are much more than PR.
5 amphibious // Apr 30, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I’m not attempting to smear the party - they manage that pefectly adequately each time their mouths open.
I was merely pointing out the fallacy of your claim not to be an off shoot of Labour which would only be true if you remembered and valued quality MPs like Grimmond.
It’s a bit difficult to abolish the ID card as it ain’t in yet and even you surely aren’t so deluded as to think that your lot of milk sops would be in government in the lifetime of anyone currently breathing.
In other words, a latte-luvvie agenda which is why I say stick to PR, it’s the only idea that might apeal to real voters.
6 Gavin Whenman // Apr 30, 2008 at 2:24 pm
So we’re on to Grimmond now are we, it was Thorpe yesterday!
We do need to abolish ID cards - the Identity Cards Act 2006 is on the statute book and needs to be repealed. Probably before the end of this Parliament they will have been introduced at least in part.
Who are these “real voters” of which you speak - are they by any chance different from the 22.1% of voters who ticked the Lib Dem box in 2005?
Also, how do you know the results of all the general elections between now and 2128? Could you possibly also let me in on who’s going to win the next five Grand Nationals?
7 amphibious // May 1, 2008 at 2:28 pm
No but I can assert without the slightfest fear of inaccuracy that the Whigs will be in government before the LibDem.
Interesting, but far from surprising - typical displacement behaviour, that you persist in ignoring the reason I commented - your ignorant (or mendacious) assertion that LibDem is not an off shoot of Labour. I illustrated the history of your cohort for your elucidation if not edification.
Iis it possible that you really don’t understand the foetid swamp from which your chaos seat warmers emerged?
You should be so lucky as to have a MP with a fraction of the Sainted Grimmond’s integrity, erudition, longevity and vision instead of a Leader with the name of a blood sucking insect (however appropriate) and a bunch of shirt lifters, not that there’s anything wrong with that… strokes for folks say I.
8 amphibious // May 1, 2008 at 2:37 pm
“real voters” of which (sic!.. try ‘whom’) you speak - …the 22.1% of voters who ticked the Lib Dem box in 2005?
Precisely the point I raised in my initial post, the absolute need to have PR & TP.
Why do you persisit in abuse and vapouring rather than address issues?
20% is sufficient in most civilised countries to be a part of government but not in the UK & the US - odd that.
9 Gavin Whenman // May 1, 2008 at 2:51 pm
The Liberal Democrats aren’t an offshoot of the Labour Party though. We are not a branch, a subsidiary, a wholly-owned entity nor a derivative of the Labour Party.
The Liberal Democrats are a result of the merger between the Liberal Party and the SDP. The Liberal Party pre-dates Labour and the Gang of Four left Labour to form the SDP. Labour did not set-up the SDP, so calling it an offshoot of Labour is entirely inaccurate.
PS. You really care about whether it is which or whom?
PPS. I’ve been resorting to “abuse”? Well, that’s certainly quite an accusation from someone who (or is it whom?) has used the terms “Dr Death”, “shirt-lifter”, “pillow-biter”, “appalling haircuts”, “latte-luvvie agenda”, “milk sops” and “chaos seat warmers” during this thread. I’ve deliberately tried to keep to the issues and work through the casual abuse you’ve been throwing the Lib Dems way.
10 amphibious // May 2, 2008 at 12:40 pm
The Liberal Democrats are a result of the merger between the Liberal Party and the SDP. The Liberal Party pre-dates Labour and the Gang of Four left Labour to form the SDP.
Preciselythe point i made originally, glad to see you’ve done of bit of reading and realised that i was correct.
Yes I care about ‘which/whom’ because sloppy grammar is the result of (1) ignorance (2) laziness (3) mental confusion, all three in any combination which is why you couldn’t grasp my original correction until 8 responses later - demonstrated by your inability to decide “.. from someone who (or is it whom?)…”
Dr Death was actually a mild term for Owen considering how he abused David Steele during the Three-legged Leader period.
You did NOT keep to the issue, you waffled and dissembled until finally admitting the truth of my correction of your fatuous claim.
Had it not been for Labor malcontents forming the SDP, failing utterly to even hold there own seats (where is Bill Rodgers now… who cares?) then parasitising the Liberals that great old party would be merely a footnote in turgid text books.
And with PR & TP that’s still more likely than not, as the figures for your own ballot demonstrate.
11 Gavin Whenman // May 2, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Huh? Amphibious, I appreciate you’re just trying to wind me up, but in my very first reply to your comment I said “The Lib Dems are the result of a merger between the SDP and the Liberal Party”.
On the grammatical point, may I suggest that a pedantic slavishness to linguistic correctness is a form of snobbery. Was my point confused / unclear as a result of this minor slip? No it was not.
Good to hear you can spin a 25% share of the national vote as an irrelevance.
(Although on my own vote share in Borehamwood yesterday, I concede your point - the result of living in a True Blue Tory Town alas).
Leave a Comment