Comments on: Opinion on Nick’s second anniversary: Neil Stockley – People are listening, now’s the time for Nick to tell our story

By: Opinion on Nick’s second anniversary: Mark Thompson – The next few months the biggest test of Clegg’s career

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:31:36 +0000

[...] to date, and to look ahead to what the future might hold. You can read Neil Stockley’s post here, and Iain Roberts’ here. Today is Mark Thomspon’s turn [...]

By: Liberal Conspiracy » Happy anniversary Nick Clegg?

Liberal Conspiracy » Happy anniversary Nick Clegg? — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:18:42 +0000

[...] the 20% mark but that barely tells the story of a year that has seen some problems most notably over our ‘narrative’ and policy wrangles like the one over tuition fees which brought Clegg into direct conflict with [...]

By: Matthew Huntbach

Matthew Huntbach — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:30:01 +0000

The Ipsos MORI poll pulbished in today’s Observer shows that Nick Clegg is the most popular of the 3 party leaders . He had a net “satisfaction” spread of +13%, compared to +6% for Cameron and -35% for Brown

But what do those polled mean by this?

If I were asked “Is Cameron doing a good job in his role?”, I wouldn’t have a clue how to answer, because I wouldn’t know what the question means. He could be doing a good job in getting the Conservative Party more support while doing so by pushing forward policies which I detest. So should I say “yes” or “no” to the question if that is the case? If Cameron were losing his party support, should I, as a LibDem supporter say “yes” to the question “is he doing a good job?” on the grounds in my opinion the more support he loses for it, the better it is?

People may well think they don’t much know or care about Clegg, but suppose he is doing a good job, so answer “yes” to this. Sometimes I think people answer “yes” to whether a LibDem leader is doing a good job on the grounds they think the job of a LibDem leader is to be ineffectual. Right now, if I were a Labour or a Conservative Party supporter, I’d say yes, Clegg is doing a very good job at what I regard the job of leader of the Liberal Democrats to be.

I was very forthright with my opinions on Clegg at the time of the leadership election, and I see no reason to change anything I wrote then, except that what I said would happen if Clegg won now has happened.

By: Neil Stockley

Neil Stockley — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:52:48 +0000

postscript: The Ipsos MORI poll pulbished in today’s Observer shows that Nick Clegg is the most popular of the 3 party leaders . He had a net “satisfaction” spread of +13%, compared to +6% for Cameron and -35% for Brown

By: Libdem Guru

Libdem Guru — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:46:59 +0000

Nick, I’m sorry to say is very weak, very underwhelming, and very LOST in the world of tough politics. Charles Kenndy or Paddy Ashdown were our best bets. Too many wimps on the front benches! And an ineffective PR/Marketing team at Cowley St does not help.

By: fdp100

fdp100 — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:25:29 +0000

We definitely need a narrative. Anyone who campaigns at local government level is lettered all through with ‘Liberal Democrats campaign on your behalf’ and ‘Liberal Democrat Focus – keeping you informed’ because we know it works and is repeated back to us on doorstep after doorstep at election time. We need that kind of narrative at national level, with the policies to back it up.
My particular interest is with climate change issues (see http://www.libdem-ccn.org.uk). Whatever happens at Copenhagen LibDem Councils across the country are taking ACTION. We have a simple narrative ‘Only the Liberal Democrats have the principles, the policies and, where we are in power, the political will to tackle climate change’ Feel free to adapt and use for your campaign Its not copyright just yet.
And we should talk about POWER. When asked about what we would do in the event of a hung parliament we should say not only ‘Its up to the people to decide and the party with the largest number of seats should be given the first chance to form a government’ but also ( a little tongue in cheek) ‘Just don’t write off the possibility that that may be Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats’

By: Benjamin

Benjamin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:17:37 +0000

Great stuff. Too often we are content with being an “And Finally” paragraph at the end of a longer piece about “real parties.” We must recognise what we always try to demonstrate to others – that the other two parties are the same, obsessed with their own issues and perspectives. If we want the chance to put forward a different vision then we have to fight for column inches and gain recognition on our own terms. That means our press and campaign operation needs to stop just trying to get a Lib Dem paragraph in Labour and Tory stories but make the headlines ourselves by running our own agenda