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Conference Article: Notes on a progressive decision

Thursday, 04 February 2010 16:42

by Lembit Öpik MP

I’m a practical kind of person.  I don’t like the high levels of dogma which seems to attach itself to party politics and elections.  There are good people in every political party, and no major grouping is 100% wrong.  So I make judgements on people and parties as I find them.  That’s how I’m approaching the question of what really constitutes a progressive outcome in political terms for the UK.

This can only be answered by adding one’s own political views to an assessment for the level of competence and trustworthiness one believes to be present in other parties.  These are the crucial factors in determining the viability and desirability of various combinations of partnership.

My own conclusions are fairly straightforward.  As a left leaning libertarian, I feel the Conservatives have much to prove on both their economic and social credentials.  Actions speak louder than words and the last time the Tories were trying to run the country they did not grace themselves in tolerant or liberal minded social policy, Clause 28 being an infamous example.  To those who say they’ve changed, I reply “you can’t talk yourself out of a problem you’ve behaved yourself into.”  A few votes in Parliament is a far cry from an endemic reform of outlook, and I fear the authoritarian and dogmative streak is still writ large across the current Tory philosophy.

Economically, they’re in very shaky shape.  Their pronouncements seem to suggest they’d have actually let the British banks collapse, despite the catastrophic consequences this would have had on the economy for decades.  Their endless bleating about the national debt implies they wouldn’t have taken the same investment decisions.  Imagine the depth of THAT recession.  I said recently that their economic politics are simply not credible, and nothing I’ve seen seems to mitigate against that bleak assessment.

As for Labour, here we can judge on recent performance.  Once again, there’s a depressing adherence to authoritarianism – a belief that people must be instructed rather than nurtured.  Though it has to be said some of the worst Tory excesses have been reversed since 1997 and that’s to their credit.

Economically, I take a less violently negative positions than some others have.  While it’s true the recession was to some extent avoidable, this would have required draconian measured in the run up to 2005, by hauling in borrowing.  In normal language, that would have meant people couldn’t buy as much stuff as they wanted to – and in effect this could have been an election losing strategy.  Labour could have saved the economy by costing themselves the election.  It’s not a justification for what they didn’t do to stop the problems – but it does at least explain why it happened.

So what should Lib Dems do in the event of a hung Parliament.  Ironically - despite my confident analysis! - I can’t say.  That’s because of what I’ve learned in successive coalition talks in Wales.  It’s actually not about how one feels about the other parties.  It’s about the Programme for Government.  That’s much more important than the colour of the party.  If you can find a partner which will deliver a large proportion of your agenda, and which you can trust to work in reliable cooperative spirit, then it’s do-able.  Personally, I FEEL that tends to favour the Labour Party, but the Tories are trying desperately to court the Centre Left, just in case.  They’ll have to try very, very, hard indeed to convince me it’s not just the same old Tories in new Eton blazers.

Lembit Opik MP spoke in the session The Tories are not Progressive at the Progressive London Conference on 30, January, 2010.