The issue of whether the Liberal Democrats really are the 'decent people' as they recently claimed while they attacked the "bitter tribalism" of British politics, has always struck me as a strange claim, just as they say that they stand for "a different kind of politics".
And while we are on the subject of "bitter tribalism" ... the Liberal Democrats at their recent conference apparently said that they would borrow less than Labour, and cut less than the Tories, which is a tribal sort of claim. Mr Clegg also said that they will not set out "red lines" in the event of a hung Parliament, but said "people do have a right to know what our priorities are" .... meaning that he is going to play tribal politics, to try and get another five years of shared power for his party.
The party leader, also said that only he of the three main parties leaders, had taken on Nigel Farage the UKIP leader in a debate, because "someone has to stand up for the liberal Britain in which we and millions of decent, reasonable people believe". There we go again, that claim to represent the 'millions of decent, reasonable people' ... as though voters for the Tories, Labour, Green or UKIP parties, are somehow not quite the 'decent, reasonable people', that the Liberal voters are.
I for one think that in many regards, the Liberal Democrats policies are to the left of the Labour Party, but apart from that, its the strange people who make up their MP's that always strikes me as less than being 'decent, reasonable people' .... so for example someone like Mike Hancock stands out like a sore thumb, but there are others who also might not always be classed as entirely 'decent, reasonable people' ....
Danny Alexander ~ the Daily Telegraph newspaper published front-page allegations that Alexander had exploited a legal loophole to avoid the payment of capital gains tax on a property he had sold in 2007, alleging that he had profited from a "morally dubious" loophole to avoid paying capital gains tax.
Alan Beith ~ The Daily Telegraph said Mr Beith claimed £117,000 in second home allowances, while his wife, Baroness Maddock, claimed £60,000 Lords expenses for staying at the same address ~ he said it was actually a bargain for the tax payers as they had "shared the costs, either by sharing the cost of rent, or by my wife using her allowance towards costs incurred (she normally claims only half of the Lords' overnight allowance)."
John Hemming ~ after his election in 2005, he made headlines when it was revealed that he was the father of a child with his personal assistant and (then) fellow councillor Emily Cox, though he would stay with his wife and the couple's three children. His wife Christine commented that she forgave him and is standing by him, as he has always been honest about his extramarital affairs, of which she said this was "about number 26".
Simon Hughes ~ had a few issues over his sexuality and denials thereof, which I won't belabour..
Charles Kennedy ~ had a few issues, not least with alcohol which cost him the leadership.
David Laws ~ The Daily Telegraph disclosed that Laws had claimed more than £40,000 on his expenses in the form of second home costs, from 2004 to late 2009, during which time he had been renting rooms at properties owned by what the newspaper claimed to be his "secret lover" and "long-term partner", James Lundie. Forced to resign from government but now rehabilitated.
Bob Russell ~ Has had a few Gordon Brown moments when in December 2010, in a reply to a letter from a constituent concerned about the cost of the coming Royal Wedding, Russell told his constituent to "get a life and stop whinging". In 2011, he followed this up with another contentious letter to a constituent, referring to him as a "rubbish man".
David Ward ~ Has taken a very pro-Palestinian anti-Israeli view of the Middle East ... "Am I wrong or are am I right? At long last the Zionists are losing the battle – how long can the apartheid State of Israel last?", and "The big question is - if I lived in #Gaza would I fire a rocket? - probably yes."[.... wow, even I am surprised at this sort of comment!
Jenny Wilmott ~ was embroiled in criticism during the expenses scandal, when it emerged that she claimed more in expenses than any other Welsh MP. She added over £57,000 to her salary in a year, including claims for a new flat and a four poster bed. In this she was joined by Greg Mulholland who was also the MP with the highest parliamentary expense claims of any MP in the 2011–12 financial year.
I suspect that there are others in the Liberal Party, especially in the lords e.g. Christopher John Rennard ..The Lord Rennard, ~ who with a few claims of sexual harassment lodged against him whose peccadillo's are not always what we might describe as those of 'decent, reasonable people' ... I can't go through the rest of the Liberal Lords as well, but you get my point. That this claim to be the party made up of, and representing 'decent, reasonable people' , is always a dangerous one to make, as it barely stands up to any scrutiny.
The other parties are almost certainly no better in this regard, and must contain as many, if not more of the same oddballs in their parties (and maybe many more in the case of UKIP, if the almost weekly sacking of their candidates is any clue), but they are generally hidden from exposure by the larger numbers involved.
All politicians are prone to making these sweeping and vaulting statements while making their key note speeches, but they should always try to temper these claims in the certain knowledge that they don't fool many of us, nor even their own parties.
In fact only the sort of blinkered and delusional supporters, those who actually believe that the Conservatives are 'the nasty party', and that they are the 'party of the good', will ever fall for these crappola claims.
And while we are on the subject of "bitter tribalism" ... the Liberal Democrats at their recent conference apparently said that they would borrow less than Labour, and cut less than the Tories, which is a tribal sort of claim. Mr Clegg also said that they will not set out "red lines" in the event of a hung Parliament, but said "people do have a right to know what our priorities are" .... meaning that he is going to play tribal politics, to try and get another five years of shared power for his party.
The party leader, also said that only he of the three main parties leaders, had taken on Nigel Farage the UKIP leader in a debate, because "someone has to stand up for the liberal Britain in which we and millions of decent, reasonable people believe". There we go again, that claim to represent the 'millions of decent, reasonable people' ... as though voters for the Tories, Labour, Green or UKIP parties, are somehow not quite the 'decent, reasonable people', that the Liberal voters are.
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| Just Saying It, Don't Make It True |
I for one think that in many regards, the Liberal Democrats policies are to the left of the Labour Party, but apart from that, its the strange people who make up their MP's that always strikes me as less than being 'decent, reasonable people' .... so for example someone like Mike Hancock stands out like a sore thumb, but there are others who also might not always be classed as entirely 'decent, reasonable people' ....
Danny Alexander ~ the Daily Telegraph newspaper published front-page allegations that Alexander had exploited a legal loophole to avoid the payment of capital gains tax on a property he had sold in 2007, alleging that he had profited from a "morally dubious" loophole to avoid paying capital gains tax.
Alan Beith ~ The Daily Telegraph said Mr Beith claimed £117,000 in second home allowances, while his wife, Baroness Maddock, claimed £60,000 Lords expenses for staying at the same address ~ he said it was actually a bargain for the tax payers as they had "shared the costs, either by sharing the cost of rent, or by my wife using her allowance towards costs incurred (she normally claims only half of the Lords' overnight allowance)."
John Hemming ~ after his election in 2005, he made headlines when it was revealed that he was the father of a child with his personal assistant and (then) fellow councillor Emily Cox, though he would stay with his wife and the couple's three children. His wife Christine commented that she forgave him and is standing by him, as he has always been honest about his extramarital affairs, of which she said this was "about number 26".
Simon Hughes ~ had a few issues over his sexuality and denials thereof, which I won't belabour..
Charles Kennedy ~ had a few issues, not least with alcohol which cost him the leadership.
David Laws ~ The Daily Telegraph disclosed that Laws had claimed more than £40,000 on his expenses in the form of second home costs, from 2004 to late 2009, during which time he had been renting rooms at properties owned by what the newspaper claimed to be his "secret lover" and "long-term partner", James Lundie. Forced to resign from government but now rehabilitated.
Bob Russell ~ Has had a few Gordon Brown moments when in December 2010, in a reply to a letter from a constituent concerned about the cost of the coming Royal Wedding, Russell told his constituent to "get a life and stop whinging". In 2011, he followed this up with another contentious letter to a constituent, referring to him as a "rubbish man".
David Ward ~ Has taken a very pro-Palestinian anti-Israeli view of the Middle East ... "Am I wrong or are am I right? At long last the Zionists are losing the battle – how long can the apartheid State of Israel last?", and "The big question is - if I lived in #Gaza would I fire a rocket? - probably yes."[.... wow, even I am surprised at this sort of comment!
Jenny Wilmott ~ was embroiled in criticism during the expenses scandal, when it emerged that she claimed more in expenses than any other Welsh MP. She added over £57,000 to her salary in a year, including claims for a new flat and a four poster bed. In this she was joined by Greg Mulholland who was also the MP with the highest parliamentary expense claims of any MP in the 2011–12 financial year.
I suspect that there are others in the Liberal Party, especially in the lords e.g. Christopher John Rennard ..The Lord Rennard, ~ who with a few claims of sexual harassment lodged against him whose peccadillo's are not always what we might describe as those of 'decent, reasonable people' ... I can't go through the rest of the Liberal Lords as well, but you get my point. That this claim to be the party made up of, and representing 'decent, reasonable people' , is always a dangerous one to make, as it barely stands up to any scrutiny.
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| Every Party Can Be Tarred And Feathered In Public .... |
The other parties are almost certainly no better in this regard, and must contain as many, if not more of the same oddballs in their parties (and maybe many more in the case of UKIP, if the almost weekly sacking of their candidates is any clue), but they are generally hidden from exposure by the larger numbers involved.
All politicians are prone to making these sweeping and vaulting statements while making their key note speeches, but they should always try to temper these claims in the certain knowledge that they don't fool many of us, nor even their own parties.
In fact only the sort of blinkered and delusional supporters, those who actually believe that the Conservatives are 'the nasty party', and that they are the 'party of the good', will ever fall for these crappola claims.
I can only imagine what they all got up to before the press got all investigative and critical!
ReplyDeleteBy the time they have finished using the phone hack scandal to handcuff the press, they may well be able to resume their previous activities again.
Delete