Friday, July 29, 2011
What the Lib Dems Stand For – By the Four Mayoral Contenders
With the race between the four potential Liberal Democrat candidates for London Mayor hotting up, I’ve put the question to each of them that I most want to know from any Lib Dem seeking my vote. I’ve previously asked it to everyone I can from local hopefuls to Party Leadership candidates, and now I have answers from Brian Haley, Lembit Öpik, Brian Paddick and Mike Tuffrey. If you’re a London Lib Dem, perhaps they’ll help you make up your mind; if not, I hope they’ll contribute to the debate on what the Lib Dems stand for. What would you say?
Ideally, I prefer to put people on the spot and get their instant, instinctive answer, but in this case I emailed all four of the candidates last Saturday, and they all took a little time to think about it (I wonder how different their replies would have been in the cold glare of a hustings). I was inspired by Brian Haley last Saturday put up an article setting out his stall on Lib Dem Voice. Other candidates have done so before or since, but it happened to be on reading Mr Haley’s that I remembered my favourite question – perhaps because he’s the only one of the candidates I’ve never met nor heard speak, so the only one I for whom I had no real idea of his personal politics. I asked him this question in the comments section, then also sent it to the email address he’d provided in his article. Immediately afterwards, I emailed all three of the others with exactly the same question, in each case saying I aimed to publish their answers this week. In each case, I told them I was also asking the other three.
One replied just two days later; three needed various levels of reminder, in which I set a final deadline of publication today, and the final two replies both came in last night. By which time I admit I’d mentioned that I’d conducted a Google search for pictures of a tub of lard should they not get back to me in time. While that may have been mean, it concentrated minds, and as all four got back to me before my deadline I won’t say which was which.
As the campaign manager of one of the candidates aggressively demanded to know who I supported before he’d condescend to pass on my enquiry, should you want a summary of my biases, at the moment I’m not yet committed to any of the four; I know two of them quite well, and like them; I can see strengths and weaknesses in each of them; there’s one I’m leaning more towards than the others; and I’m afraid that as I don’t know Brian Haley at all, he starts at a disadvantage for me – though he’s on an equal playing field for these answers. I hope to read all they have to say (their manifestos are here, if you’re not a London Lib Dem member; for me, two of them come out strongly there, and the other two much less so in their different ways) and, ideally, get to one of the hustings – I couldn’t make the central London on last Wednesday, but if you scroll down @libdemlife’s timeline to 27th July, he livetweeted it. I hope to write up what I think of each of the candidates and their campaigns within the next couple of weeks (and perhaps give my opinion of the answers below), but as I’m not standing for election, I can afford to be lazier than those wanting my vote…
The answers below are exactly as I received them, though in alphabetical order rather than necessarily in order of preference or of when I received them:
And if you are a London Lib Dem, don’t forget to get your vote in by August 31st!
The Question
People say all politicians are the same. Everybody talks about experience, hard work, listening to local people. So what really motivates you? What makes you different from any other party?
If someone asked you on the doorstep, the hustings or on TV to sum up in one or two sentences what the Lib Dems, uniquely, stand for, and why anyone should vote for us, what’s your answer?
The Asking
Ideally, I prefer to put people on the spot and get their instant, instinctive answer, but in this case I emailed all four of the candidates last Saturday, and they all took a little time to think about it (I wonder how different their replies would have been in the cold glare of a hustings). I was inspired by Brian Haley last Saturday put up an article setting out his stall on Lib Dem Voice. Other candidates have done so before or since, but it happened to be on reading Mr Haley’s that I remembered my favourite question – perhaps because he’s the only one of the candidates I’ve never met nor heard speak, so the only one I for whom I had no real idea of his personal politics. I asked him this question in the comments section, then also sent it to the email address he’d provided in his article. Immediately afterwards, I emailed all three of the others with exactly the same question, in each case saying I aimed to publish their answers this week. In each case, I told them I was also asking the other three.
One replied just two days later; three needed various levels of reminder, in which I set a final deadline of publication today, and the final two replies both came in last night. By which time I admit I’d mentioned that I’d conducted a Google search for pictures of a tub of lard should they not get back to me in time. While that may have been mean, it concentrated minds, and as all four got back to me before my deadline I won’t say which was which.
As the campaign manager of one of the candidates aggressively demanded to know who I supported before he’d condescend to pass on my enquiry, should you want a summary of my biases, at the moment I’m not yet committed to any of the four; I know two of them quite well, and like them; I can see strengths and weaknesses in each of them; there’s one I’m leaning more towards than the others; and I’m afraid that as I don’t know Brian Haley at all, he starts at a disadvantage for me – though he’s on an equal playing field for these answers. I hope to read all they have to say (their manifestos are here, if you’re not a London Lib Dem member; for me, two of them come out strongly there, and the other two much less so in their different ways) and, ideally, get to one of the hustings – I couldn’t make the central London on last Wednesday, but if you scroll down @libdemlife’s timeline to 27th July, he livetweeted it. I hope to write up what I think of each of the candidates and their campaigns within the next couple of weeks (and perhaps give my opinion of the answers below), but as I’m not standing for election, I can afford to be lazier than those wanting my vote…
The Answers
The answers below are exactly as I received them, though in alphabetical order rather than necessarily in order of preference or of when I received them:
Brian Haley
What I care passionately about
In the preamble to our Constitution, it says that "Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity" and it was these values, inspired by John Stuart Mill's Essay on Liberty, which attracted me to the party.
Historically, Liberals have put these ideas into practice for the nation's benefit. Lloyd George introduced Old Age Pensions in 1908 to ‘lift the shadow of the workhouse from the homes of the poor’, and Lord Beveridge, a Liberal, wrote the blueprint for the National Health Service.
Today, Liberal Democrats have lifted everyone earning less than £10,000 out of the tax bracket, and plan to do more as the economy improves. Our belief in personal liberty led us to successfully oppose Labour's proposed ID card system, ensure children get the individual attention, protect hard-won British civil liberties with a freedom bill, to oppose the BSKY B bid and to probe the phone-hacking scandal. All more consistently than the other parties.
I became disillusioned with Labour's failure to provide jobs and homes. So many inner London Boroughs have had 40 years of Labour control, 13 years of Labour Government and still have some of the worst housing in Europe. I switched to the Liberal Democrats after lengthy talks. The values above are what I care passionately about.
Lembit Öpik
What do the Lib Dems uniquely stand for?
The Lib Dems' unique quality giving a voice to the voiceless, and defending citizens against conformity and ignorance. Other parties tend towards being authoritarian, and a blown by fashion to make knew jerk policy in crises. the Lib Dems at their best resist those superficial tendencies and cherish freedom and fair distribution of wealth in the party's political heart.
Why should people vote Lib Dem?
People who care about righting the wrongs of financial and power imbalance in our communities should vote Lib Dem. People who believe politics can stand up for those who do not enjoy great wealth or political might should vote Lib Dem. Quite simply, if you're someone who cares about people, not just yourself, the Lib Dems are the natural and logical choice.
Brian Paddick
The Liberal Democrats uniquely want to provide equality of opportunity to everyone, no matter what their social background, ethnic background, sexual orientation or any other irrelevant difference. Uniquely we want to provide everyone with as much freedom as possible, with the least interference as possible from government or the law, with decisions made by local people who know what is best for them and their community.
That is why I am totally disillusioned, after more than a decade of Labour's financial mismanagement, restricting civil liberties and creating hundreds of new criminal offences, totally disillusioned with the Tories wanting to restrict privileges to the better off, disregarding the impact of policies on the poor and on the environment, and totally committed to the Liberal Democrats who are the only party I believe are worth voting for and fighting for, despite the coalition!
Mike Tuffrey
On the door step I say we need government to be on your side - helping you do the right thing like recycling your waste, switching to public transport or improving your skills for work. Doing, helping, not taking over.
Echoing Gladstone, my philosophical approach is 'trust the people' but tempered by the recognition that a big city like London needs active government, if we are to create and sustain a fair, free and open society, and not leave our fellow citizens left by the wayside.
And if you are a London Lib Dem, don’t forget to get your vote in by August 31st!
Labels: Liberal Democrats, Liberalism, London, The Golden Dozen, What the Lib Dems Stand For
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Yes indeed, not abandoning - left by the wayside.
Great initiative, Alex. I took you at your word on one or two sentences, door-step ready. The challenge is to bring alive what makes our political philosophy different.
I really do believe that the only way to make a great melting-pot city like London work is liberalism - freedom and tolerance, citizens empowered, celebrating diversity, thinking local in neighbourhoods and communities, concern about the environment, positive about business and wealth creation, and open to the rest of the world.
Mike Tuffrey
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Great initiative, Alex. I took you at your word on one or two sentences, door-step ready. The challenge is to bring alive what makes our political philosophy different.
I really do believe that the only way to make a great melting-pot city like London work is liberalism - freedom and tolerance, citizens empowered, celebrating diversity, thinking local in neighbourhoods and communities, concern about the environment, positive about business and wealth creation, and open to the rest of the world.
Mike Tuffrey
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