Exciting times (especially for those of us living in Lib Dem/Labour marginals)

[ghoti_mhic_uait]

Independent: Vote for Lib Dems will not let in Tories. "[T]he Tories
come nowhere near to passing the winning post of 324 seats they would
need to form a government. Crucially, if enough people switched from
Labour to the Liberal Democrats, Mr Kennedy's party would start to win
seats instead of the Tories -- so the result would be a hung
parliament rather than a Tory government."

Comments

[pjc50.livejournal.com]

I'd take issue with your "continually" there. I think virtually all the really good stuff this government did was in their first term, and they have now started doing more harm than good (anything to do with "terrorism" had been handled in a morally wrong way). The only good thing they've done recently that I can think of was some talk of debt relief for poor countries - do you have any other examples?

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

I genuinely believe that on all the important social issues - identifying sectors of the population that really need help and helping them - Labour's record is spotless. Yes, they have a tendency to appear barking mad on any issue that their friend George Bush is involved with, but I'm willing to believe that international politics in the last 4 years has been a bit of a minefield that no party would have a clear idea how to proceed in.

Whereas, who are Lib Dem policies actually going to help? As far as I can see they are now *tailored* towards siphoning off votes from the middle classes that might otherwise be going to the Tories. And if you're middle class the Lib Dems probably do look like an enticing prospect, but if you're actually below the poverty line with day-to-day survival to worry about, it's still Labour all the way. I have an LJ friend who tells me that in his constituency the Lib Dem candidate is against wind farms, while in the next one along they're pro-foxhunting. And this sums up the Lib Dems at the moment, they're just playing the system, telling people what they want to hear regardless of whether it could possibly make sense in the event of them actually getting into power.

I'll concede that Tony Blair has turned into a bit of an slimy git after 8 years of absolute power, but I see no catastrophe inherent in a Labour government, as compared to some governments of the late 20th century I could mention. It's a shame our voting system doesn't allow us to fix small problems in the way the country is being run without throwing the baby out with the bathwater, really.

[pjc50.livejournal.com]

Sorry to be tedious, but could you give a specific example of the sort of help you mean? Good news tends not to be so widely reported.

[mobbsy.livejournal.com]

You're right that all the really good stuff happened in the first term, and the past 4 years have been largely conciliation of that (and a bunch of illiberal and warlike stuff).

Some examples of Good Stuff from the past 4 years include canceling debt to Heavily Indebted Poor Countries, and extending anti-discrimination legislation (including extending disability discrimination act and legislation against discimination on sexual orientation).

I wouldn't vote Labour on their current record, but I'd rather see them than the Tories in power, and still have hope for a good third term. With the distractions of the situation following 2001 attacks on the US and fox hunting are out the way there's a real chance to start putting into place future Energy policies, and doing the best we can for Africa. Unfortunately, it's more likely to be dominated by sorting out the future of European politics.

[naath.livejournal.com]

Lib dems are offering better hospitals and better pensions - 2 things known to be the most help to the poor (while the rich don't need to government's help to get health care or live in retirement).

[badriya.livejournal.com]

Lib Dems are also offering free university education. And care for the elderly.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

The issue I'm hearing most about from the poorer and rougher parts of the city is policing.

These people don't want an ID card, they want more police (oh look, that'll be the Lib Dem policy).

I';ve heard a reasonable amount on pensions (again, the LibDem policy is preferred to the Labour record).

I'm hearing 'we want a better future for our children', and that means more help for university funding.

What I'm hearing from people below the poverty line is 'Labour have failed us'.

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

There are some people who will say "The government has failed us" no matter what the incumbent government has actually done. Most people, by the looks of things.

I'm informed by sources that I think to be reliable (though maybe I do rely too heavily on the word of Guardian columnists) that this government is the most redistributive of at least the past half a century. And if that's true, it's a great achievement that should be honoured, not met with "get the hell out, you're just as bad as the last lot, let's have a new completely untried party in instead".

I would probably agree with you that Lib Dem policies look better on paper than Labour policies. That's because all Lib Dem policies are a variant on: "In this area we pledge to be much better than Labour." But in reality being in power is a balancing act, and I very much doubt that every single aspect of our lives would be better with a new broom. Until New Labour actually topples over I'm happy to reward what I perceive as its relative success. Certainly things aren't nearly so bad that we need an urgent change of tack, IMO.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

Redistributive in the sense of taxes on the rich and more money for the poor? Which particular poor? As far as O can see, the Working Families Tax Credit, for example, benefitted only the middle classes, the people who wouldn't have got benefits before but now do.

The actual rates of pensions and benefits have gone up well below the rates of inflation. This isn't particularly unusual, I know.

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

Health really matters, and Labour have screwed over our local hospital (Whipps Cross) far worse than the Conservatives did, and in direct contradiction to their comments about it during the 1997 campaign. Our local MP also told people what they wanted to hear in opposition and became markedly less responsive to correspondence as soon as Labour were elected. I also think their approach to asylum has been a catastrophe, and is costing lives. At this point, I can't see myself voting for Labour again for a very, very long time.