Democracy has been saved “at the eleventh hour” – that’s right, the cross-party “Save general election night” campaign has successfully lobbied the government to stop councils from delaying counting votes until a day after the election.
It seems many Liberal Democrats are welcoming the right outcome for the wrong reason.
There are two main possible justifications for this:
(1) Counting the votes as soon as possible, to minimise the risk of someone tampering with ballot boxes.
(2) Feeding the frenzy of wanting instant results broadcast as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, the campaign has been geared towards the latter, and most Lib Dem MPs who’ve supported …
So, it’s the silly season again, and politicians are once more gripped by an irrational argument. No change there.
But for those of us who study history, the latest furore over the NHS is positively nauseating, with people apparently split into the camps of those who decry its very right to exist, and those who suddenly pretend they haven’t spent the last few years grumbling about how it’s in dire need of reform.
Part of this division is built upon a myth – a boil that needs to be lanced. We’re so used to Labour politicians churning out the line that Labour gave us the NHS, that we’ve begun to unthinkingly accept it. When Ian McCartney MP celebrated Labour’s centenary in 2006, he actually shed a tear for the NHS as Labour’s greatest triumph. Anyone familiar with 1940s history will tell you that this version of events is a cruel lie.
Liberal Democrats have every reason to be excited about the Sustainable Communities Act, which kicks in this year. Co-sponsored by our very own Julia Goldsworthy, and passed with cross-party support, it offers a unique opportunity which Lib Dems would ignore at their peril.
Quite simply, it’s a piece of devolved, ‘opt-in’ legislation. Participation isn’t compulsory, but councils can choose to get involved – and on their terms. The Act enables local councils to submit proposals to the government on how they can promote ‘local sustainability’. This is extremely loosely defined. It’s anything which will contribute to ‘the improvement of …
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