Waking up to the encouraging string of headlines as I did on Monday, I’m suddenly wondering if this is the point where we as a party have started getting it right?
If there are three uncontroversial elements to Lib Dem identity then equal marriage rights, campaigning against Trident and defending the individual (Nick Clegg launching the #thisisabuse campaign) are surely good starting points?
Conference is this weekend, so you could be forgiven for thinking these brilliant policies appear pre-emptively in our packs – but no, it’s almost as if we are a party of government: the Deputy Prime Minister appearing on the BBC; CentreForum’s report featured in the Guardian and our calls for Equal Marriage igniting support across Twitter, and appearing in the Times (£) leader.
I’m very cautiously contrasting this to recent years of the party bemoaning the media bias against us; the constant struggle to show people that the policies they so agree with can be implemented if only they gave us power.
I think this might just be the start of our comeback. We had a Liberal Youth meal last week, and someone pointed out that this was probably the last parliament before all parties start turning their attention towards the fight of 2015. We’re nearly 2 years into a coalition government, and the Liberal Democrats are in power, playing a vital role in shaping the government’s identity and initiative.
Let’s make the most of it – playing a positive and influential role, celebrating our successes and being the engine of reform and progress in government. We’ve finally broken through the establishment to show the press, and the public that we can hold power and be effective, now we have to capitalize on it in local elections in May, and continuing to shape the government’s agenda for the rest of our time in power.
* Sean Davey is the Chair of London Liberal Youth
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5 Comments
Great to hear some positive comments in contrast to all the moans .
It always pays to remember that most voters don’t read The Guardian.
“If there are three uncontroversial elements to Lib Dem identity then equal marriage rights, campaigning against Trident and defending the individual (Nick Clegg launching the #thisisabuse campaign) are surely good starting points?”
I’m afraid that sentence illustrates in a nutshell the devastating effect that two years in coalition has had on the party’s identity.
It might be OK if you were a couple of pressure groups, but if those are the most important examples you can think of it’s pretty disastrous, given the fact that you’re meant to be a national political party.
We have every reason to look forward to May, lets get on with it.
@Chris – not sure if I agree that defence policy, tackling rape & abuse and giving people equal rights shouldn’t be considered important policies of this government? Having said that I chose those three not as the bastions of our achievements in government (though they are among them) but because they are the headlines I woke up to Monday. Not on the radio that morning were some of the other contributions we are making in government: attempting to implement the fairest possible cuts as we stabilise the public finances, providing a sensible, reason based voice on Europe, reforming the entire balance of the tax system by raising the personal allowance. If anyone thinks we’re acting like a pressure group as opposed to having a meaningful influence on key government policies needs to look a little closer?