Undecided of Manchester Withington
A confession: I haven't made up my mind how to vote yet.
If it were simply a matter of choosing a party I would have settled long ago on Labour. I've never voted for them before at a general election but picking Ed Miliband as leader showed they were ready to stand for something again and I'm pleased with the direction he has taken the party. While some of the policies they have already proposed may be a bit gimmicky (stupid NHS targets), and some I'll believe when they happen (200,000 new homes a year), others look both doable and will tangibly improve the country: doubling paid paternity leave, reducing tuition fees, giving 16 year olds the vote, abolishing non-dom status, giving football fans a voice in the boardroom, reinstating the 50p top rate of tax, scrapping the bedroom tax, and giving renters more rights to name just a few. Small policies that will make a big difference without breaking the bank.
I could hardly be less persuaded by the endless attacks on Miliband from the Tories and Tory press, all too often promulgated by leftier papers that should know better. The bottom line is he has both the opportunity and, it seems, the desire to be a transformative prime minister in the mode of Attlee or Thatcher. No doubt I will be disillusioned should he get into Number 10. But better to hope and be disillusioned than never to be illusioned at all.
The Lib Dems, conversely, have been on their own ideological journey, one that has taken them a long way from my own views. I didn't and still don't object to them forming a coalition in the first place; the electoral maths made it inevitable. What worried me then, and even more now, is that the current leadership prefers to be in government with the Tories than with Labour. That's why they tripled tuition fees, screwed up the NHS and waved through excessive austerity - not as a result of necessary compromise, but because they actually believe in these policies. And every time Clegg claims that Labour caused the global financial crisis by borrowing too much, I wish that bit more strongly for a Portillo moment in Sheffield Hallam.
And yet ... the Lib Dem candidate here, John Leech, is not of the same mould as Clegg, Laws, or Alexander. He's clearly a bit of a leftie, rebelling against tuition fees, the NHS reorganisation and the bedroom tax. He's clearly an MP who works hard for his local community. In my view his record in Westminster is pretty good and I would have no problem with him continuing to represent me for another five years.
If only he wasn't a Lib Dem!
From what little I know of Jeff Smith gleaned from his campaign literature, he would make a perfectly good MP too. He has Real Life Experience and is just as locally-focused as Leech. But can I count on him to vote with his conscience when it matters? And does his conscience even resemble mine? No idea. If it was simply a matter of choosing an individual representative, I would choose Leech.
So there's the dilemma. Go with an experienced, independently-minded MP who undoubtedly shares my values but will nevertheless be counted as one in the column for Tory-loving Clegg when the coalitions are negotiated? Or the unknown quantity who will unquestionably help Labour into power?
Party or person?
If it were simply a matter of choosing a party I would have settled long ago on Labour. I've never voted for them before at a general election but picking Ed Miliband as leader showed they were ready to stand for something again and I'm pleased with the direction he has taken the party. While some of the policies they have already proposed may be a bit gimmicky (stupid NHS targets), and some I'll believe when they happen (200,000 new homes a year), others look both doable and will tangibly improve the country: doubling paid paternity leave, reducing tuition fees, giving 16 year olds the vote, abolishing non-dom status, giving football fans a voice in the boardroom, reinstating the 50p top rate of tax, scrapping the bedroom tax, and giving renters more rights to name just a few. Small policies that will make a big difference without breaking the bank.
I could hardly be less persuaded by the endless attacks on Miliband from the Tories and Tory press, all too often promulgated by leftier papers that should know better. The bottom line is he has both the opportunity and, it seems, the desire to be a transformative prime minister in the mode of Attlee or Thatcher. No doubt I will be disillusioned should he get into Number 10. But better to hope and be disillusioned than never to be illusioned at all.
The Lib Dems, conversely, have been on their own ideological journey, one that has taken them a long way from my own views. I didn't and still don't object to them forming a coalition in the first place; the electoral maths made it inevitable. What worried me then, and even more now, is that the current leadership prefers to be in government with the Tories than with Labour. That's why they tripled tuition fees, screwed up the NHS and waved through excessive austerity - not as a result of necessary compromise, but because they actually believe in these policies. And every time Clegg claims that Labour caused the global financial crisis by borrowing too much, I wish that bit more strongly for a Portillo moment in Sheffield Hallam.
And yet ... the Lib Dem candidate here, John Leech, is not of the same mould as Clegg, Laws, or Alexander. He's clearly a bit of a leftie, rebelling against tuition fees, the NHS reorganisation and the bedroom tax. He's clearly an MP who works hard for his local community. In my view his record in Westminster is pretty good and I would have no problem with him continuing to represent me for another five years.
If only he wasn't a Lib Dem!
From what little I know of Jeff Smith gleaned from his campaign literature, he would make a perfectly good MP too. He has Real Life Experience and is just as locally-focused as Leech. But can I count on him to vote with his conscience when it matters? And does his conscience even resemble mine? No idea. If it was simply a matter of choosing an individual representative, I would choose Leech.
So there's the dilemma. Go with an experienced, independently-minded MP who undoubtedly shares my values but will nevertheless be counted as one in the column for Tory-loving Clegg when the coalitions are negotiated? Or the unknown quantity who will unquestionably help Labour into power?
Party or person?
Lets not rule out the possibility of a Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition - in which case John Leech as a Social Democrat would be better placed to influence policy than he has been the last five years. A vote for John from a national perspective doesn't necessarily mean a Conservative coalition will be the outcome.
ReplyDeleteFair point. The dice could fall that way though for Leech to have any real influence it would need to involve change at the top of the Lib Dems as part of the deal.
ReplyDeleteA lib/lab would be great, however in Manchester have a problem with Lab cllrs, they will be forced to get on, but maybe thats what this country needs.
ReplyDeleteI think the unfortunate thing that has happened for voters like you is that, like it or not, we will have a Labour or Tory leading government, and Nick Clegg has said he will work with either of them. If only he had put his eggs in one idealogical basket! So for you, someone who wants to vote for a Lib Dem man, you literally do not know what you're voting for by voting LD. If you vote labour, you get Labour (if they win in your area, obviously). I would say vote with who you want in government for your MP (so from what you've said Labour), but then use the Cllr elections that are happening at the same time to vote Lib Dem if that is where your heart truly lies.
ReplyDeleteThere's also quite a lot if you search the internet that shows John Leech perhaps isn't all that great too. I mean, if he rebels so often, why not leave the Lib Dems and make your choice an awful lot easier?