Liberal Democrat leadership contest [uk] (1 Viewer)

[Red_Dave]

The current betting odds are

1 Menzies Campbell 1.38/1
2Simon Hughes 2.88/1
3Mark Oaten 6.5/1
4Ed Davey 8.3/1
5Nick Clegg <8.93/1
6David Laws 11.5/1
7Vince Cable <43
8John Hemming <208

Im routeing for Simon Hughes as he,s seams to be in favor of moveing the party to the left, keeping the partys stance on high taxes on the rich and localism.Hes also proposing "green taxes" which sound good though i havent looked into them in detail.

To me this seams like a better idea than moveing the party to the right like those anoying orange book types want to. This seams absurd to me as voters already have to center right partys and the left is already very disenfranchised after the creation of new labour. The best tatic for the lib-dems is to pick up the voters that would have gone for old labour and replace labour as the working class party.

Im probably going to join the party if hughes or another left-winger wins as although im more of a socialist than a liberal there is need to be pragmatic. Its unlikely a socialist party will come to power under First Past The Post and even if one could its unlikely attempting to socialise the economy useing the same methods as the old labour party would work. Therefore the more pragmatic option seams to be suporting the liberal democrat as by doing this i am promoteing localist, enviromentalist and redistributive policys. If a liberal democrat government comes about people will have more ability to run there own affairs due to Proportional Representation being implemented and political power being disolved to regional assemblies. A socialist government will be more likely after this as socialist partys will have a better electoral system to work under and the electorate as a whole will be more involved in the political process due to being goven more of a say.

 

[GarzaUK]

Well definitly not Ming the Merciless :lol: , after his performance as caretaker Lib Dem leader in PMQ where he was completely useless against Blair.

I don't care really, I just want the Lib Dems into opposition. I don't think old Labour voters would vote against Gordon Brown, he basically represents Old Labour. Old Labour are mostly elderly types, and the elderly do not think the Lib Dems as creditable.

If the Lib Dems are going to come into power they have to be right wing in some aspects of politics, such as crime, free markets. That's where we differ red dave. Your an economic liberal, I'm a social liberal. I'm kinda orange book - I think.

I haven't heard the Lib Dem contestants speak, so I haven't made up my mind. I just don't want Menzies tho.

 

[Plain old me]

Don't get too excited about P.R. The problem is FPTP benefits the winners, and its only the winners that get to change things so as soon as the Lib Dems start winning they may become loathe to change the system.

If they squeeze themselves into government with a hung parliament then its possible, hopefully not gonna happen but possible

I would've preffered Mark Oaten, I think he was good at his home affairs brief and it's the Lib Dems Home Affiars policies that I most agreed with. Mind you, now he's quit, and further scandal is being revealed...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4635916.stm

So perhaps a rather large error in judgement on my part.

 

[Red_Dave]

Well definitly not Ming the Merciless :lol: , after his performance as caretaker Lib Dem leader in PMQ where he was completely useless against Blair.

I don't care really, I just want the Lib Dems into opposition. I don't think old Labour voters would vote against Gordon Brown, he basically represents Old Labour. Old Labour are mostly elderly types, and the elderly do not think the Lib Dems as creditable.

If the Lib Dems are going to come into power they have to be right wing in some aspects of politics, such as crime, free markets. That's where we differ red dave. Your an economic liberal, I'm a social liberal. I'm kinda orange book - I think.

I haven't heard the Lib Dem contestants speak, so I haven't made up my mind. I just don't want Menzies tho.

I dont see how Gorden Brown represents Old Labout as he is not in the Socialist Campain Group or anything like that and was a big part of the creation of New Labour. The whole point of the granita deal was that Brown and blair and similar veiws and that by standing against each other they where spliting the right-wing vote.

I thought Social liberalism was the more left-leaning faction of liberalism [I.E New Liberalism] and that economic liberalism was more Gladstoneian/Smithsonian . I would have thought the orange-bookers would be the latter as theres stuff in the orange book about scraping the N.H.S.

 

[Red_Dave]

Don't get too excited about P.R. The problem is FPTP benefits the winners, and its only the winners that get to change things so as soon as the Lib Dems start winning they may become loathe to change the system.

If they squeeze themselves into government with a hung parliament then its possible, hopefully not gonna happen but possible

.

I doubt the lib-dems would go back on P.R as in the last election Charles Kennedy and most of his cabinet moaned about FPTP perpetually and still do even more then labour used to. It would look hipercritical to go back on it and if there policy stays the same it will be part of there electoral madate.