Opinion On A Knife Edge
Why the UK Liberal Democrats got so resoundingly rejected and what the future holds.
Few politicians and political parties have had as quick a fall from hero to zero as the UK deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and his Liberal Democrats. As he led his party into a coalition as junior partner to David Cameron’s Conservatives in May 2010,pre-election chants of I agree with Nick quickly subsided to fierce criticism. And with the damning results of the May 5th referendum on electoral reform and local elections in,the Lib-Dem’s find themselves in their weakest position since 1957,when their forbearer party,the Liberals,could hold a meeting of the entire parliamentary party in the back of a London taxi.
May 5th saw the Liberal Democrats lose 749 council seats in England and Wales,as well as 12 seats in the devolved Scottish Parliament. Yet their biggest bruise came from the overwhelming rejection of the Alternative Vote system in the referendum,where over two-thirds of voters dismissed change. To a party that has long suffered from the historic first-past-the-post system,which gives the Lib-Dems an under-proportional number of seats for vote share,electoral reform has long been a holy grail. The outcome is a huge setback to the party’s attempt to crack Westminster’s two-party system.
Two main reasons exist for why they received such a damning body blow. Firstly,by joining the Tory led coalition they have helped facilitate bigger public spending cuts than even seen under fiscal hawk Margaret Thatcher. Images of Clegg sitting alongside Cameron as the cuts were announced,whilst backbench Tories hollered with glee may well have proved too much for many Lib-Dems,particularly given pre-election the party opposed immediate fiscal consolidation,only changing their mind and agreeing to immediate cuts upon forming the coalition.
Bringing us neatly to the second point. By having to actually engage in the rough and tumble world of government,no longer able to take a ‘holier than thou’ approach from the sidelines,they had to compromise manifesto principle for the practical reality of being a junior partner,not only on the issue of cuts but something else equally as toxic. Reneging on a pre-election pledge to abolish higher-education tuition fees,they actually tripled them from 3,000 to 9,000. The raw anger of the students who traditionally supported the party was stunning,with Nick Clegg being one of the only British politicians ever to have been burnt as effigy. Less vociferous,but demonstrative of how he is considered untrustworthy,is the common quip: Why did Nick Clegg cross the road? Because he promised he wouldn’t.
Whilst having to renege on pledges to form a coalition may seem natural in many countries,hardly explaining such a comprehensive defeat as on 5th May,to a country as unused to coalition government as the UK,reneging transformed the Lib-Dems from the softy softy party of ‘sandal-wearing bearded hippies,’ to a duplicitous entity. Moreover,the party didn’t help themselves through a high profile pre-election ad damning ‘broken promises,’ which was gold for campaign opponents.
Whilst the party’s future is uncertain,at least currently the UK coalition is safe. Cameron has no desire to pull out and face an election as austerity measures start to kick in,whilst the Lib-Dems clearly have no desire to pull out and wipe themselves off the political map. Moreover,Cameron and Clegg have a good working relationship,even if Clegg is now determined to approach the coalition in a more business like manner,attempting to more noticeably push grass roots Lib-Dem interests whilst tempering Tory ambitions. For now,it will be a battle of words and showmanship,something Cameron will likely concede ground to Clegg on,to help him keep the Lib-Dems and thus the coalition placated. Yet in the longer term,maintaining their presence as a significant force in British politics,despite the setback with the referendum,will depend on how the economy has responded in four years time. For Nick Clegg’s beleaguered Lib-Dems,surely it can only get better?
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