Back in the day, the run-up to Conference used to include Tim Farron grabbing some headlines with his pre-conference interview. Remember the cockroaches one? I’m not entirely sure that the Clegg press office was wildly chuffed with that one.
Thers a certain irony this week, as the run-up to Conference is punctuated with numerous forays by Nick Clegg in the media as he publicises his book, published tomorrow. He’s doing the interview equivalent of a photobomb.
Yesterday, he clearly had a very good lunch with the press gallery. He said a lot of very pertinent things on Brexit including a prediction that Liam Fox will resign in a huff. Perhaps it might have been wiser to laugh off questions about whether he would fight his Sheffield Hallam constituency again with something like: “Lib Dems are doing really well in Sheffield at the moment. Did you see that by-election we won from fourth last week?”
While he stated that he didn’t much like nationalism and wanted the UK to stay together, his remarks that a future referendum on Scottish independence would be difficult to fight given the strength of the Remain vote perhaps misunderstand the situation in Scotland. A poll just yesterday showed that little had changed in the two years since the Referendum and two weeks ago, half of Scots polled opposed a second referendum. And before anyone suggests that there is a contradiction between opposing an independence referendum and wanting a referendum on the Brexit deal, there isn’t.
In 2014, the SNP, to their credit, produced a blueprint for independence that was so detailed it even said that the time would remain the same. It was 600 pages home, the size of two housebricks and is no doubt being used as a door stop in thousands of Scottish homes. We knew what we were getting if we voted Yes. Contrast that with the fact that the Leave campaign didn’t have a clue about where we were going and what Brexit would look like. It’s only right to ask the British people their opinion on the final deal once we know what it is.
Tim Farron, though, has been getting out there and talking to the press ahead of Brighton too. In an exclusive Standard interview today, he talks of the need to park Lib Dem tanks on the Tory lawn to oppose the awful things that they are doing. He appeals to Labour moderate types to join us:
I don’t want to park my tanks on Labour’s lawn,” he said. “I want to park my tanks on the Tory lawn, which is where Labour’s tanks ought to be.” Mr Farron even hinted that Labour defectors would be allowed to stand in the next election under Lib-Dem colours, aiming to tempt those facing deselection. “We’d want those people to be very much part of our future,” he said.
Except there are things like candidate approval and selection processes to go through that he can’t control, but we’ll let that one pass for the moment.
He expects to win the argument on a second referendum:
Voters and business leaders, he argues, will increasingly feel that leaving the EU is a “calamitous situation that our children will pay for”.
He added: “I imagine Theresa May would bow to that kind of pressure.”
He wasn’t impressed with May’s performance during the referendum:
Scathingly, he said her “fence-sitting” in the EU campaign made even the low-profile Mr Corbyn “look like an absolute trouper”. He added: “If you are a leader, you stake out a position and you fight for it. You don’t just see which way the wind is going.”
He touched on the possibility of a by-election in the Richmond Park seat held by Zac Goldsmith if he resigns over Heathrow expansion. While it might become a referendum on that, Lib Dems, who have always opposed it, would have an advantage:
Confirming his opposition to a third runway, he said that if Zac Goldsmith resigns his Richmond Park seat in protest at a go-ahead, the vote would turn into “a referendum on Heathrow”. Mr Goldsmith, he said, would be punished in any by-election for backing Brexit.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
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17 Comments
I think that’s an unfortunate choice of phrase by Tim, as wanting to ‘park my tanks on the Tory lawn’ implies that he wants the Lib-Dems to adopt Tory Party policies. I know that’s not what he meant but that’s how the phrase has been used in the past.
One of the few weeks Tim Farron is likely to get more widespread positive publicity, Clegg decides to launch his book. There is nothing like reminding people about Clegg to keep Lib Dem poll ratings down.
and there is another Clegg in the Paralympics in Rio.
Except that having heard Nick Clegg (courtesy of a New Stateman event – and I am intending to see him tomorrow evening at the LSE), he comes across as calmly self-effacing and he is fully and wholly prepared to admit to his own mistakes and failings in a way that few other politicians ever come close to doing.
His comments about Europe and Brexit – and the Tories’ blatant hypocrisy and pinhead-swivelling posture – is worth listening to. Unless, that is, you are one of those who have moved beyond reason and into the realm of visceral, illogical antipathy.
I’d agree with Graham that it’s not the right phrase in general usage, but the context makes it nice and plain.
The argument above that a second independence referendum is less justified than a second EU one is quite bizarre. It is true that the Yes side produced a detailed plan, but as No campaigners are so fond of reminding us, the Yes side lost that time. The winning No side did not produce any plan for what would happen if they won. All we had was some vague Vow cobbelled together at the last minute that they couldn’t give any details about and a load of promises that have since unravelled. One of which was that Scotland’s place in the EU would be safe with a No vote. The parallels between the Leave and Better Together campaigns are compelling in this regard.
As for the opinion polls, we will get a clearer picture in the fullness of time. At the moment nothing has changed since the Brexit vote. We are still in the EU. We don’t know what the UK negotiating position will be let alone have any idea what the outcome of negotiations will be. As the First Minister pointed out earlier today, we don’t even know what the process for determining the UK negotiating position will be.
If it eventually becomes apparent, for example, that the UK will be out of the single market and people need visas to travel to Europe then all ways of protecting Scotland’s interests, including independence, need to be available options. It will be opinion at that time that matters.
Nick Clegg is belatedly showing a reasonable grasp of the Scottish situation. Hopefully, he can now pass it on to his party in Scotland.
I disagree Al. The Yes campaign did produce a manifesto, which has since been disowned by the man who wrote it as unrealistic. There was no obligation for the No campaign to come up with a plan for not changing the constitution. I know plenty of No voters who didn’t want any further devolution, and are sick fed-up of Yes voters insisting that’s what they voted for. Similarly, I don’t recall a single person say they were voting to stay in the UK just so they could stay in the EU. Obviously, many wanted to stay in Europe, but the reasons for staying in the EU are similar to those for staying in the UK, with the UK being a bigger trading partner etc.
The fact is that nationalist campaigners will never be happy with anything short of independence, and will spend their time complaining about anything and everything instead of using the powers available to them. The mistake Clegg has made is to presume that the well organised and vocal campaigns represent the majority view. The polls continue to that show that not only do most Scots still do not want Independence, and many who quite fancy independence in the long-run, don’t want another referendum for now.
“Unless, that is, you are one of those who have moved beyond reason and into the realm of visceral, illogical antipathy.”
Around 99% of voters have a visceral antipathy or indifference to Clegg, the illogical people are those who think that is going to change. It rather shows the lack of political nous amongst the Clegg apologists, that still they don’t get it.
This all goes to show how the Lib Dems have been dumped by the press. If Tim was getting his fair share of media coverage, the launching of a book by a former DP would not be trumping the HUGE issues which he is discussing. He is the only sane leader in an insane political establishment.
Lib Dem HQ should be running the back office like a Start-up company, lean, creative and very hungry for attention. We just don’t have the money or the staff anymore to think big like the Tories or Labour. If there is one area we do need to spend money on, it is publicity and media. Without proper press coverage, we are doomed. It is so frustrating not being heard!
The Brighton Conference may or may not clarify our strategy re Brexit and where authority lies as to a final decision. We need to get this right. We cannot just rely on Labour chaos.
There are far too many current & ex LibDems who, like Caracatus, are amongst the most visceral of the Clegg haters and can’t bring themselves to believe that it is all now history and shut up. Many of us greybeards argued in May 2010 that coalition was a bad idea because it was foolish to believe the Tories even if they told you the time. Was it coincidence that one of the first issues raised by the Tories was the question of university finance & thus tuition fees? Believe that & you still thin the earth is flat. We had a conference which endorsed coalition. Very many LibDems besides Clegg were responsible for what happened in 2015 and continuing to focus on Clegg bashing is music to out opponents.
I agree with Caracatus. Nick Clegg’s book has already diverted attention on LDV to the divisive arguments about coalition within our party and now looks like bringing back the public’s memories against us, delaying further our ability to convince them of what we are really about. Even on the EU he will remind people of their view that we think everything about the EU is fine, even though (as Tim said on radio 4 last week) in fact we want the EU to reform.
I should add to Mike Turner, that it is Nick Clegg who is not willing to shut up about the past.
Caractacus: What evidence do you have that “around 99% have a visceral antipathy or indifference to Clegg” ? Indiference possibly, as that applies to many politicians, but visceral hatred ? Most people rarely mention him except on LDV’
The fall in support in opinion polls may be due to the party no longer being seen as the one for those who want to cast an anti government, oppositionist, none of the above vote as it was recently in government itself. Those voters have now gone to UKIP, the Greens or Jeremy Corbyn depending on their outlook and how effective they think their vote will be in upsetting the 2 main parties. Things should change if the Brexit talks are seen to be failing after the 2017 German elections, maybe even at next year’s local elections if cuts continue to be made.
@Caron Lindsay
“We knew what we were getting if we voted Yes.”
I don’t think we did at all. Yes, the Scottish government released a white paper but that same white paper we now know was a false prospectus. It was just spin straight from SNP HQ. The economics behind it have been proven to be completely hokey.
On the wider article, what Labour does is their prerogative. I don’t think it’s helpful to be looking to pick up ‘defectors’, the party needs to stand out for itself. Plus, as Graham says in the first comment, you could interpret Tim’s remarks as suggesting that the Liberal Democrats are warmer to Conservatives or Tory policies than Labour.
I would hope that the party has a similar outlook to the Corbyn supporters but without the blind fanaticism and out of date policies. Like the National Liberals of the 1930s and 40s I expect many of the anti Corbynites will most likely drift over to the Conservatives in due course rather than to the Liberal Democrats and some will stay in the Labour Party whoever leads it. Apart from those with a vested interest most people are sick of the present consensus and are looking for something new although plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose. Sorry my keyboard does not do the cedilla or the circumflex.
Graham – I don’t recall the tanks phrase being used like that at all. During the strife in the Labour Party over In Place of Strife, Wilson (I think, rather than Castle) complained about the TUs parking their tanks on his lawn. He didn’t mean to protect him. It generally means that you’re threatening whoever owns the lawn.
The threat could be very effective. Tories have big lawns and wouldn’t want them churned up.
“Clegg Interview-bombs” – a good example of the importance of punctuation. I first read it as “Clegg interview bombs”. But of course that couldn’t be right.