Comments | mcgillianaire: Reflections on the general election

mcgillianaire

Reflections on the general election

May 09, 2015 16:30

This is what I wrote on Facebook yesterday afternoon:

"Gutted about the result but congratulations to the Tories for an extraordinary victory. Did not see that coming at all. An absolute bloodbath in political terms for the opposition. A country divided unlike ever before. A broken electoral system. And an impending escalation to the austerity ( Read more... )

diary, elections, politics report, politics, my thoughts, quotes, 2015 uk general election, report, uk, lib dems, uk report

Comments 8

loganberrybunny May 10 2015, 02:03:48 UTC

I hope so too. The lack of liberal voices in Parliament will be very keenly felt now, especially on things such as mass surveillance and human rights. (The Tories have already announced that yes, they will scrap the HRA and implement the Snoopers' Charter ( ... )

mcgillianaire May 10 2015, 15:15:32 UTC

Thank you for your detailed reply!

Completely agree with your first paragraph. A lot rests on the shoulders of David Davis (as I think you mentioned in one of your entries/comments in your journal) and Ken Clarke to speak up for civil liberties on the Tory side of the Commons. I had to actually check if Clarke was still an MP because I had just assumed he had (been) moved out of government, not stood again and was due to be made a peer in this Parliament. I'm glad he's still an MP. Forty-five years and going strong. I guess that makes nine of us in the House ( ... )

loganberrybunny May 11 2015, 18:08:20 UTC

Hey, I make no pretence to be neutral in my political views! =:P I have voted Tory precisely once in my two decades as an elector (for a very good local councillor) and everything I say should be viewed in that light!

If the UK remains a member of the EU, it will remain subject to the Convention.

Indeed -- but that in itself will be fuel for the fire of the Outers. I can't think of much more damaging to Britain's interest than leaving the EU, but I don't think it's out of the question unless there's a good In campaign. Otherwise there's a risk of what happened with the AV vote.

In a way, I'm not too upset about losing these left-of-centre voters who saw the Lib Dems as Orange Tories. What worries me more are the soft Lib Dems who have gravitated (back) to the Tories. [...] I do think the Lib Dems should be a progressive party, but I don't think its future lies on the centre-left. It needs to be firmly rooted to the centre.To me as a centre-left voter, the first part of that feels (word used deliberately; I mean a gut feeling) like ( ... )

mcgillianaire May 13 2015, 14:57:39 UTC

Thanks again for your detailed reply!

I make no pretence to be neutral in my political views!

Of course! Although you've voted a Tory, a very good local councillor notwithstanding, more times than I have...(so far). ;-)

Otherwise there's a risk of what happened with the AV vote.What a disaster that was! From that perspective it's probably a good thing the Lib Dems are not part of the government. I suspect they would've acquiesced to an EU referendum in this Parliament and if Clegg was still at the heart of government, he may have remained a lightning rod for Lib Dem dissatisfaction. Now, more than Cameron's re-negotiation (which could bring dividends in a way that the Luxembourg Compromise did for France), what I worry about is whether Call Me Dave can maintain party discipline in the run-up to the referendum (a la Major). I think he wants us to remain in, but does he forsake our existing relationship for his party's unity? That's the key. I remain optimistic that if the Tory leadership campaigns to stay in, it'll carry. The in ( ... )

Thread 8