Nick Clegg, apparently, has said that the Lib Dems have been punished at the polls because they are bearing “the brunt of the blame” for the coalition spending cuts.
Nick, that’s bullshit. Let’s get this straight, OK. You are not being blamed directly for spending cuts. What voters have against you and your party is that you didn’t stand up for your principles. You broke promises and sold things you were supposed to hold dear down the river for a sniff at power.
Someone said to me that, at the British elections of 2010, the Lib Dems were stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they hadn’t gone into coalition with the Tories, people would have blamed them for the lack of a stable Government in a time of crisis. So they went in, hoping to get AV and maybe a few more concessions. They had lost seats, after all, and weren’t in a strong bargaining position.
Well, yes. But going into the coalition has lost them all respect, especially among members of their own party, most of whom are extremely hostile to Tory policies. That’s not easily recoverable either. If they had forced a new election by not offering stable coalition, they may have suffered a short-term backlash, inspired by the right-wing press. But people would have remembered their principled stand, and that goes a long way in politics these days. I guess they would have ended up stronger as a result. Not any more.
My feeling is that Clegg should resign from the Government along with all the other Lib Dem Cabinet members. It would be damage limitation, too little too late, but late is better than never. At least it would be better for them, as well as for the country...
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