Sunny Hundal, founding editor of the most influential left-of-centre blog Liberal Conspiracy, has just blogged his endorsement of the Lib Dems for the coming election:
After last night’s debate one thing really struck me. We on the left and many Labourites who are also on the left, fight against discrimination and marginalised people. This is why we attack the Tories for their homophobia and their flashes of racism.
But the way that both Labour and the Tories (the latter expected anyway) not only dismissed the idea of an amnesty, but actually dog-whistled throughout about how the Libdem plan would wreak havoc sickened me. …
the people who do claim to be in politics for the poor and the marginalised cannot claim that we should not have sympathy for these people. And it made me sick when all Brown could do was attack Clegg for even suggesting a very meek policy, rather than offering ideas of his own. This is a man with no ideas. He is not fit to lead the country (neither is Cameron of course, but I was always going to say that).
I am proud to see myself on the Left and I am proud of what the Left stands for. I just don’t believe this Labour government stands for the same values.
Sunny’s endorsement of the Lib Dems follows hot on the heels of The Guardian, and an impressive group of progressive writers.
We’re just waiting now for the Fabian’s Sunder Katawala and Left Foot Forward’s Will Straw: it can only be a matter of time, surely?
Follow @LibDemVoice on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Subscribe to our feed
Sign-up for our daily email digest
Top six councils for recycling are all Lib Dem led
A reminder that the UK already uses restraint on children in the care system
"We must work together on behalf of the people" plea to all Liverpool Parties
Can we have a referendum please, Rishi?
GP services over the Easter holiday
Michael BG
Katharine Pindar
Steve Trevethan
Andrew Melmoth
16 Comments
I love it when a plan comes together…
Left Foot Forward are too busy trying to work out new and inventive ways to describe the funnelling of income from the rich to the poor as “regressive” and “unfair” to endorse the Lib Dems, you know this!
“But the way that both Labour and the Tories (the latter expected anyway) not only dismissed the idea of an amnesty, but actually dog-whistled throughout about how the Libdem plan would wreak havoc sickened me. …”
The trouble is that it’s not only Labour and the Tories who dismiss the idea of an amnesty. When the issue was raised, Nick Clegg’s immediate reaction was this:
“I don’t want you to be misled by David Cameron. I’m not advocating an amnesty.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8652884.stm
I think that was the second most depressing moment of the debate for me.
>> Sunny Hundal, founding editor of the most influential left-of-centre blog Liberal Conspiracy,
Is that not like being the tallest person in Lilliput?
This is good news. I respect Sunny a good deal, despite his occasional mistakes (like over how progressive or not the tax switch is). He is right about the “amnesty” as well.
Given the site and Sunny have always been liberal-left mainly from a left of Labour ngo position, particularly on social liberalism, perhaps it might help to call time on the excessively touchy sense that so often claims it is a Labour front. I think I am one of very few Labour members who are regular writers for the site.
And thanks for the invitation. Personally, I will hold fire. My personal politiics are Labour pluralist, and have been developed under the influence of Marquandism since at least 1991, so I do have a lot of time for the LibDems, though I think that can be combined with policy challenges (from your left, not your right!).
My personal, preferred outcome from this election has long been a Lab-Lib coalition committed to electoral reform and a full constituitional settlement. that was the case well before the campaign began – hence my advocating that in the New Statesman in January 2009. I think the policy platform set out in that article would be close to the basis on which a coalition would be possible. Labour has now shifted to the Commons AV and Lords PR position I advocated 18 months ago, though a good case can certainly be made for the Commons being AV+ in such a reform package.
Unfortunately, a Tory minority government seems to me right now a considerably more likely outcome than that, and quite possibly one where they will deal rather more with the Ulster parties than the Liberal Democrats. Only if the Tories are pegged back well short of 35-36%, eg below 33%, and Labour comes through rather better than the polls currently predict both nationally and in Tory-Labour marginals does any non-Tory government or government committed to political reform seem to me to have much chance of emerging.
That will again raise the question of the future of progressive politics. On the long view, my argument is that almost all of the major advances in recent British political history arose from various forms of Lab-Lib cooperation; very little was produced by liberal-conservative alliances other than the destruction of the Liberal party, while the Conservatives have always prevailed and dominated alone in open three-way competition.
That is why, despite Nick Clegg’s success in this campaign, I see all arguments (within Labour or the LibDems) such as his Demos realignment argument which suggest hat one of the parties can be eliminated as a serious political force as a strategic dead-end.
And it made me sick when all Brown could do was attack Clegg for even suggesting a very meek policy, rather than offering ideas of his own. This is a man with no ideas. He is not fit to lead the country…
Didn’t think I would read anything quite so forthright! Good on Sunny!
@Anthony Aloysius St: Yes, that wasn’t a nice moment. Fortunately he reconsidered his defensiveness and told Brown to “get real”, nicely turning round the attack that he received in the second debate over Trident. I don’t see why we should be ashamed of our policy, far from it. A bit of extra tax revenues and a bit less crime is surely just what the country needs right now, even ignoring the obvious personal benefits to the immigrants who would be able to become citizens. As Christina Odone said on the Campaign Show last night (gosh! never thought I’d write that!), why is it that British politicians fall over themselves to wring their hands about immigration? After all, it’s a sign of success – wouldn’t the Daily Mail be complaining bitterly if Britain was so awful that our population was falling thanks to net emigration?
This will make even less of a difference than the Graun’s endorsement.
This is why I fear it will all go pear-shaped for the Lib-Dems if they back the Tories in an HP.
Pear-shaped for Sunny Hundal and the Graun, more like. The cognitive dissonance explosion would be audible from Iceland.
I am a left-of-centre Liberal in the Liberal Democrats.
I am delighted to see a convergence of left liberal opinion towards the Lib Dems, which in addition to Liberal Conspiracy includes the Guardian/Observer, the progressive letter in the Guardian, and even elements of the New Statesman and Compass.
The Left Liberal axis suffered a big blow when New Labour came onto the scene, and their own allignment with Rupert Murdoch which made them an anti-liberal force in politics.
There was another serious blow with the death of Robin Cook. Although he was greatly admired within the Labour party, he did not leave behind in the party a significant faction that could challenge New Labour.
More recently Compass has come to the fore, and maybe John Cruddas could take up that role?
However we should not overlook that the main beneficiery of the immigration debate between Cameron and Clegg (and with Brown on the sidelines) has turned out to be Cameron. Much of Labour’s core support agrees with Cameron. It was good to see Nick Clegg make his case and I fully support his decision to stand up and be counted. I thought he won the debate on this issue, but it wasn’t what the electorate wanted to hear. Lets stick to our principles, but accept that being a left liberal is not a soft option.
We have a lot of thinking to do about this.
I wouldn’t get so cocky, as Hundal has… erm… ‘clarified’ his position.
http://liberalconspiracy.org/2010/05/01/my-endorsement-of-the-libdems-further-clarified/
He’s been blogging for over five years. One would have thought he were capable of saying what he meant in one go.
Still, at least he’s no longer calling for race-based Tory-support.
To be honest you would expect him to say that
That brown people should vote Tory? And a 19 year old boy in hiding for his safety and being hung-out to dry by those supposedly acting in Locus parenitis was a “chimp”?
No, those came as a surprise. He’s like a weather vane in a hurricane.
This interesting post is linked to by Sunny: http://www.anthonypainter.co.uk/2010/05/01/mrs-duffy-and-the-liberal-moment/
A word of caution to people who think we can simply supplant Labour (though I don’t agree with 100% of his analysis – Alix has a very good comment in the thread).
Yes, it was interesting, and I’ll cogitate over it whilst I plant onions.
Like Painter, I don’t know what newspaper Gillian Duffy reads. It may be the Daily Mail, I don’t know. And nor does Sunny Hundal. A point to note, Brown explained the Government line to her… and she agreed. Some bigot!
Now, where are my wellies?