Then imitate the actions of a tiger, stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, disguise fair nature with hard favoured rage!
Shakespeare’s Henry V, could have been referring to politics, now! The tiger is not timid, but is brave. The rage is not destructive but is strong. There is a need to be brave and strong. The centre ground is regarded by some, wrongly, as merely mushy, wishy washy. That old adage, the only thing that happens in the middle of the road, is, you get knocked down, is nonsensical.
I welcome those who do want to journey with me. I, though a Liberal, and therefore for the individual, am too, a democrat, and welcome the company on the journey. I see the centre ground as needing to be cultivated, nurtured, with possibilities for development and scope to build, but a path, too, to travel, and a journey, that continues. It is the path ahead. It is, in politics, the road less travelled now, but along its route, we can make real friends, and have fellow travellers, not from or to the extremes, as too often associated with such a phrase, but on the way forward.
As a longstanding member of the Liberal Democrats who, as a youth, cut my political teeth in the Labour party, I welcome alliances and cross-party working, because I also know how seldom so many do, in the two big parties. From the outset of the emergence of TIG, through the debacle regarding its becoming Change UK, some of us, a few, have continued to reach out, rather than reject. We know that to leave a party requires bravery. We see that to feel hounded out because of antisemitism is awful. We get it that Brexit has indeed led to a change in our discourse.
The thing is what to do now. Anyone who thinks that without electoral reform, there is room for several groups competing for votes on that centre ground, is unaware of the political jungle. ” Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” The Wizard of Oz provides us with as useful an analogy as Henry V. We must unite if we are to defeat the wickedness, and can only do so with a degree of wizardry.
I welcome those who are brave enough to know that to be strong, is to admit to mistakes, and to seek allies, to join in on a journey. As a classical Liberal, I am very individual, as a social Liberal, I am very sociable. I am delighted to have played a small part in the effort to navigate some on a journey. I know the saying, ” there are no such thing as small parts, only, small actors!”
I think it has been good for those who have not understood the Liberal Democrats, in TIG or Change UK, to do so better. It has been necessary too, for some in the Liberal Democrats to trust those in TIG or Change UK. The formation of Liberal Tigers- Association for a United Centre, the name they have chosen to begin their journey with us, formed by and for new and indeed, ongoing members of the Liberal Democrats , many having just come from TIG or Change UK, to see through the jungle, to travel our path, is the result. I am glad to journey together. I am so pleased that they are getting welcomed by our party, fully . I reckon too, very soon, MPs shall also. It is a brave new world.
* Lorenzo Cherin is an actor, writer, and regular contributor to politics as a member of the Liberal Democrats. He is based in Nottingham.
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12 Comments
Liberal Tigers must be prepared to challenge the alt-right agenda which is infecting our body politics aimed directly at the teenage and left behind young working class males .Last night i attended a LGBT+ training course heard the evidence regarding horrendous increase in hate crime and that was not just limited to LGBT+ persons but at anyone who did not conform to the type of society the alt -right want . The centre should not be soft but a firm rock we can stand on as the waves of populist ideology crash on our shores .
The next few months could be an interesting time, with the fallout from the Conservative leadership contest, and particularly if Boris Johnson wins. There would be a number of MPs on the Liberal wing of the Conservative Party who may well be feeling politically homeless. Jumping ship directly to the Lib Dems may be a step too far for them, but with Change UK’s bubble having burst, and with various grouped or non-aligned Independent MPs floating around the HofC, it’s all looking a bit ‘People’s Front of Judaea’. Perhaps this Liberal Tigers concept, independent from the Lib Dem party structure, but committed to working with them, could become an attractive half-way house for potential converts?
This Liberal Tigers- Association for a United Centre is a great initiative, already bearing fruit. Well done on your contribution to this initiative, Lorenzo.
With the minute attention being given to the Tory leadership race, the news about Chuck Umunna has gone under the radar.
I do wonder how close Labour is now to imploding under the leadership of Corbyn and what that means practically. If for example the Social Democrats who seem to be led by Tom Watson in the Labour party broke away I wonder if we could be talking about potentially 100 MPs walking. If they did would the want to join the Lib Dem’s or would they go their own way? We really could do without the complexity of yet another party…..
As for the Tories I genuinely have no idea how many MPs might leave.
Lorenzo, could you possibly give us some more information about this group, Liberal Tigers – Association for a United Centre?
I had not actually heard of the “Liberal Tigers” before. I followed your link to their twitter account. It seems to be a group for people who supported Change UK, and are now considering joining the Lib Dems, but it doesn’t seem clear whether the group has any actual official links to the Lib Dems.
Sorry to sound lukewarm, but the twitter account did seem rather unreliable. For example, it retweets the article from the Daily Mail which claims that Chuka Umunna is going to stand as a Lib Dem candidate, and it seems to accept the article completely at face value. But the reality seems to be that Chuka Umunna has not even joined the Lib Dems, and of course even if he did he would not just automatically be the Lib Dem candidate for his constituency.
Are you involved with the “Liberal Tigers” yourself? I think I would need a lot more information before I could share your enthusiasm.
Paper Tigers?
Lorenzo, since you choose to use the phrase “brave new world”, allow an aged cynic to quote Prospero’s world-weary response to Miranda (The Tempest Act V , Scene 1, line 183 ) when she utters that phrase:
” ‘Tis new to thee.”
That’s some very sensible response content here.
I appreciate in particular the one from Chris. To say to him and Catherine that I have been made a founder member , but the initial membership is all made up of supporters of TIG- Change uk, now members of the Liberal Democrats. They are not in a transition. They are with us and very enthusiastic it seems.
I played a role in , as stated above, a sort of ambassadorial one, Liberal Democrat Ambassador to Change UK.
As a loyal and keen member of our party I could do less.
Just to say , the new group is in an early stage and would I feel welcome input from our members- they have received help from party staff too.
Thanks Lorenzo, all sounds positive to me. I have gave them a follow.
Thanks Lorenzo, Sorry if my comment seemed rather negative. If the Liberal Tigers have joined the Lib Dems then of course they are very welcome, and it is great that you have held out the hand of friendship to them.
Thanks to Mike and Catherine, for those comments. I have given advice and been very transparent, but aware of the sensitivity of those deciding or trying to come to decisions about the political volatile terrain. I am not directly involved in the internal groupings specifically now, because I feel the TIG- Change UK supporters need their own identity and to develop in the party, our Liberal Democrat one. I have and do offer advice though ongoing, to any who seek the truth and reality, that we are in need of both cross party alliances or dealings, and cooperation within a party .