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| Nick Clegg - Not a good week for him |
The poor local electoral results for the Liberal Democrats underpin the view that they are like a "human shield" for the policies of the coalition government. The Tories have escaped relatively unscathed in electoral terms from this process. The coalition was never going to be an easy ride for anyone but the liberal democrats seem to be suffering the most. Everyone expected the Tories to make cuts and now the liberal democrats are being perceived to be their partners in crime. Labour are not blameless, as they were significantly responsible for setting the economic context of the huge policy challenges the country now faces.All political parties would have had to go down the cuts road, the question is how quickly they would travel towards their destination of eliminating the budget deficit. Any cuts which will need to be implemented will have to be well thought out and not be directed against the weakest in society. There is also the point that by protecting the weakest in society those on just above average earnings should not pay a disproportionate price for protecting the weakest. Sadly the middle does appear to be being squeezed too much and this will not provide adequate incentives for society to get out of this recession.
In terms of changes to the electoral system, they are necessary as governments are frequently elected by less than 50% of those voting, however, AV is not the way forward in this particular instance as it is not that much better than the present first past the post system we now have. Thus it was comprehensively rejected by the referendum.
Where might labour figure in the future? Perhaps the new "Blue Labour" movement, which in some ways pays homage to the Big Society, could be a way forward.
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