,
9 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
Thread: Lots of Labour voters, who know their fave party have stitched us up, are nevertheless struggling with the idea of voting LibDem in the upcoming elections. 'But the tuition fees!' they say. I hope they consider this carefully. It sounds very like that line Trump used...
so successfully; 'But her emails!'. Smart campaigning. Pick on something your opponent got wrong, and make sure it outweighs everything good about them. If tuition fees is the first thing you think of, you're being played.
The argument works because we think political parties have to be pure, but if what happened under a coalition in 2010 is so important, then you can't vote Labour either, because they took us into an allegedly illegal war! But wait, you say, that was under a different leader so...
...it doesn't count. Aha but the Lib Dems are under different management too. Both the party leaders responsible are no longer in politics. But the next objection usually is: 'But they got into coalition with the Tories. They must be evil'. Let's think about that. The LibDems...
...reportedly tried to get into a deal with Labour but Labour said no, so they either had to work with the Tories or allow a shaky hung parliament, which the country could do without, only a couple of years after the financial crash, so they went into coalition, which is normal..
...in so many countries. But why didn't Clegg stop the Tories doing x, y, z? He was deputy PM! Oh really? If you want to know how hard it is to drive your policies through as a deputy leader, ask Tom Watson. Most importantly, let's stop demanding...
...retrospective ideological purity from politicians. Or how far back do we go? The Suez crisis? The Repeal of the Corn Laws? What matters is that they are now: resolutely pro Remain, willing to work with other Remain parties. Right now, the Lib Dems serve our political purpose,
...while our lovely Labour Party is meeting daily with the Tories to discuss the best way to sell this country into penury. So switch your vote this time. Tell Labour how you feel. Lib Dems are probably your best bet at least in England.
For the avoidance of doubt I am a former Labour member. I'm not and never have been a member of the Lib Dems. This is the end of this party political broadcast on behalf of common sense.
