the sandals are off

A few Labour bloggers and twitterers are crowing about Lib Dems ripping up their membership cards and joining the Labour Party. I don’t buy it, frankly. I’m sure there are a few, just as there are a few every time we update our policy in contentious areas. But not many.

To be a Lib Dem who doesn’t agree with the new politics is to fundamentally have misunderstood what being a Lib Dem means. Central to our manifesto in every year of our existence has been our commitment for fair votes (proportional representation). If you believe in PR, then by definition, you believe that the old two party seesaw was bad. By definition, you accept that the result of a fairer voting system would be a greater chance of coalition government. Nick Clegg made it abundantly clear during the campaign that he was willing to work with other parties in the event of a balanced parliament. Furthermore, he said several times that the party which got the most votes would have the greatest moral authority to try to form a government.

No-one has been betrayed. If you voted Lib Dem, you can be assured that our negotiating team ensured that a fair proportion of Lib Dem policies made it into the coalition agreement. In fact, the Conservatives have been more accommodating than most of us could have imagined they would. For what it’s worth, I would far rather have a Tory government moderated by the Liberal Democrats, than one which was unfettered. And deep down surely most Labour supporters can see that too?

I still dream of a fully proportional parliament for this country. That would be a parliament where coalitions would be a regular feature. Proponents of first past the post will be hoping this coalition fails, so that they can say “we told you so”.

For the sake of the future of our democracy, we must make sure that it succeeds.

The hustings season began this week with two school “Question Time’ style events at Sir William Ramsay School and at Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School.

What was striking (and heartwarming) was the level to which these young people had thought about the issues in this election. Their questions were relevant and penetrating and gave us all on the panels a tough test.

There was a common theme at both schools where students were worried about the cost of further education. I know that my party is right to want to phase out university tuition fees. It cannot be right to saddle young people with £20,000 worth of debt before they even start to earn a living. It is well established that graduates will go on to earn more in their lifetime than the rest of us. This also means that they will pay more income tax and be less likely to become dependent on the state in the future. Investing in education is quite simply good value.

Young people also asked us about the how we can repay the massive amount of debt that the nation is now in, since we bailed out the banks. Let’s face it, the bank bailout has cost us an eyewatering amount of money. Young people leaving school this year are facing tough times ahead, of that there can be no doubt. There will have to be cuts, and I think all of the main parties recognise that. There are two challenges: what do we cut, and when. When is actually crucial. During the recession of the 1980s, the Tories under Margaret Thatcher cut too much, too soon. The result was spiralling unemployment, and a recession that was worse and went on for longer. The key is to monitor the heartbeat of the economy very closely and I know who I would trust to do that, our very own Vince Cable. On the subject of what we can cut, Vince has already identified a number of areas including Child Trust funds, ID cards and the replacement for Trident.

Young people also asked about the Cookham guest house incident, where a gay couple were turned away by the owners. Of course, I told them in no uncertain terms that I do not accept that turning them away was in any way a “Christian” act. I find it distinctly unChristian to make judgments about others in that way. I note with interest the reaction of Conservative Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling, who appears not to fully support anti-discrimination law in this area.

Many young people stayed to talk to me after both events, and I found it very invigorating. They have views on all of these issues and more, and they have yet to become infected with the cynicism that infects us when we get older. I sincerely hope that those who are 18 by polling day exercise their newly granted right to have a say.

We had a very good turn out for the Remembrance Sunday parade and service in High Wycombe.

Remembrance Sunday – and in particular, the two minutes of silence – is an opportunity for reflection. I am by nature a seeker of peace. I find the idea of young men and women facing death and danger to do our bidding almost too sad for words. I am not a classical pacifist, but I do believe it is incumbent on us to exhaust every peaceful and diplomatic means before resorting to armed conflict.

Today I reflected on the fact that I live in a democratic country. I enjoy the freedom to speak my mind, and participate in the democratic process. I owe that freedom to people who risked their lives and in too many cases, paid the ultimate price. We must always remember that in the two biggest armed conflicts the world has ever seen, we fought to protect our free and democratic way of life in the face of tyranny. We must never forget.

Sadly, today we still have service men and women risking their lives daily. Whilst we debate the rights and wrongs of present conflicts, we must remember that our volunteer armed forces never question their duty. I hope and pray that our politicians do everything possible to safeguard our men and women, by ensuring they are well equipped, and by seeking to bring them home as soon as they possibly can.

We are living in strange and interesting times. One thing that never fails to surprise me is how Prime Ministers never seem to realise when the game is up. They always enter a delusional twilight world where they think they should just go on and on, even when the overwhelming evidence is that they have lost all public support. Labour’s humiliation across two sets of elections last Thursday has broken all kinds of records. It must be apparent to Gordon that he is about as likely to win the next General Election as (with apologies to Monty Python) Tarquin Fim Tim Lim Bim Wim Bim Lim Bus Stop Fatang Fatang Ole Biscuit Barrel. But still he goes on deludedly surrounding himself with a dwindling band of ‘yes’ men and women, while anyone who dares to question him is either fired or resigns.

Apparently one opinion poll says over 40% of the electorate want him to stay. Maybe, but they will be the supporters of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats who know that the longer he stays. the more seats Labour will lose.

At the current rate of decline, Labour could easily be facing another twenty years in the wilderness.

I once worked at a building which overlooked a humped back bridge. One day, the traffic lights beyond the bridge failed causing a tailback of traffic towards the bridge. From my vantage point, I could see traffic approaching the bridge too fast. All day long there were squeals of tyres and the occasional crunch as accident after accident occurred (thankfully none of them serious – but all of them avoidable). Watching Labour destroy itself wilfully is the same experience, You can see what they are doing – but they are going to do it all the same.

It won’t be the same without them.

Back in blogging mode after about ten weeks of solid electioneering, it’s time to pore over the results and see what we have learned – and where we are.

In true blue Bucks (the only council in the land which has been continuously Tory for 120 years), we made a net loss of one seat. Disappointing, but probably not that surprising. What that doesn’t tell you is that we gave them a hard fight – and had them looking very worried at the count. We also triumphed in our target division where our two Labour defectors retook their seats handsomely under the Lib Dem flag.

The wider picture is that our share of the vote nationally was 28%. That we made a small net loss of councillors says more about the unfairness of our electoral system than it does about our level of support.

An interesting exercise is to plug the vote shares into an electoral prediction tool, like the one at http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/. If you input 38% Tory, 28% Lib Dem and 23% Labour, you could be forgiven for expecting to see the Lib Dems forming Her Majesty’s Opposition! Those of us who know better will groan when they see that that still delivers twice as many Labour MPs as Lib Dems.

Still, if I were the PPC in any Labour held seat, I’d be quietly rubbing my hands now in anticipation of a very interesting battle. If I were PPC in a Labour/Lib Dem marginal I’d be chatting to my employer about possibly not being around in twelve months time!

We have much to be optimistic about, but there’s also real danger too. Many of our finest MPs will be defending themselves against a Tory onslaught. We must not allow them to be swept away. The good news here is that there is evidence that many are not yet convinced by Cameron’s Tories. Turnout was low, and the results yesterday were partly a result of voters voting ‘anyone but Labour’.

The Labour vote is blowing away in the wind, but if want to pick up those votes, we have to earn them. We cannot sit back now, we have less than twelve months (maybe much less) to show people why we deserve their support!