For a long time I’ve distrusted the Janus-faced and as slippery as a Vaseline covered eel, Liberal Democrats. I saw how, up until the spotlight was turned on them when they were part of the 2010 – 2015 Coalition, the Lib Dems could be all things to all men. A Lib Dem could pose as a radical semi-socialist in urban areas to take votes off of Labour and as a free market friend of liberty when they were challenging the Conservatives in less urban areas.
The Lib Dems are a party that not only would I not buy a used car from, but if the party told me it was raining outside, I’d feel that going to check whether or not they are telling the truth would be a sensible idea. Whilst there might be the occasional solid and trustworthy member or representative flying the Lib Dem flag in local and national government, the party itself is in my view not to be trusted.
For their decision to oppose the will of the people following the 2016 Referendum on membership of the European Union and their failure to stand up for genuinely liberal ideas such as freedom of speech, the Lib Dems have quite rightly earned the nickname of the ‘Illiberal Undemocrats’. It was a disgraceful sight to see members and supporters of a mainstream political party, one with members in the House of Commons, wearing ‘bollocks to Brexit’ apparel and doing all that they could politically to nullify the vote to leave the EU. This party should have accepted that the people had spoken and accepted the Brexit vote and get on with trying to make that decision work for all Britons. Unfortunately they did not and by throwing away the idea that the people’s will is paramount, flushed the last bit of the heritage that they might have had from the old and somewhat well respected Liberal Party, down the toilet.
It would be nice to think that now that a sufficient amount of time has elapsed since the 2016 Referendum, that the Lib Dems would have reconciled themselves to Brexit. It would be equally nice to believe that the party would not put forward candidates that were not only rabid remainers but who were so quite recently. However this is what the Lib Dems have done in Owen Paterson’s old seat of North Shropshire, where there was a vote in favour of Leave of 59.8%.
Putting up a heavy Remainer in the form of Helen Morgan as the Lib Dem candidate doesn’t look like the best of decisions that a political party could make although it’s quite possible that people can have changes of heart and disavow previous political positions. Unfortunately this does not seem to be the case.
According to the Guido Fawkes site the Lib Dems are not playing clean with regards to Ms Morgan. What Guido is claiming is happening is that the Lib Dems have gone around scrubbing their website and any other resource that they control which mentions Ms Morgan’s remain views in order to hide these views from the electorate of North Shropshire.
Guido said:
While local voters backed Brexit in 2016 with a whopping 60%, their (the Lib Dems) attempts to overturn the result for four years arguably damaged trust in politics more than any of Owen Paterson’s actions. Their candidate, Helen Morgan, was previously found on the LibDem website boasting about her anti-Brexit credentials:
“Her broad commercial experience has convinced her that remaining in the European Union is best for British businesses, both small and large, and crucial for the future of Shropshire farmers. She has been an enthusiastic campaigner for Remain since 2016.”
Co-conspirators, however, won’t be able to find Helen’s ‘about’ page on the LibDem website anymore. Anyone attempting to learn about Helen is now automatically redirected to her new by-election campaign website, which is notably devoid of any information about the candidate.
What a bunch of sneaky, dishonest sleazeballs the Lib Dems are. A more honest approach would have been for the Lib Dems to say that although their candidate supported Remain, she would respect the wishes of the local electorate. Sadly this is the Lib Dems that we are talking about here, a party that does not really ‘do’ honesty but really only does expediency.
Yup. I would definitely NOT buy a used car from the Liberal Democrats and neither should Brexiteers in North Shropshire be taken in by the Lib Dems subterfuge and vote for Ms Morgan. This sort of dishonesty is the sort that makes politicians distrusted and rightly so.
I agree with all you say but just who can the electorate trust in UK today? Many of us are still suffering the fall out from Blair and Brown and just look what trusting Boris has bought us. We need a root and branch clean out of our political system and a new party but l doubt if we will get them. My own area had just returned a 100% Labour council in spite of unbelievable mismanagement and sleaze, maybe we get the government we deserve?
It’s sad that we are reduced to a “least worst” choice in UK politics.
But to answer your question F211: No, I would not buy anything from the Liberal Democrats whose name, IMO, is a case of two lies for the price of one.
Neither would I buy a used car from Labour which I regard as:
1. still hopelessly mired in anti-Semitism.
2. Incapable, if the shadow front bench is anything to go by, of putting up competent people.
3. Having a tendency to select crooks (Ms C.Webbe and Mr. Vaz) as candidates. Labour did eject Webbe from the party, but this was after they had parachuted her into the Leicester constituency; an act that so outraged the local party that several senior members resigned in disgust. (What is really worrying is the thought that any other choice would have been worse than Webbe; if so Labour is really scraping the bottom of the barrel.)
4. Being also hopelessly mired in identity politics and thus inherently divisive to the Country.
5. Has left its working class roots and values so far behind its likely to rear-end them any moment.
I have also never voted Tory and never will.
So it is deeply depressing that there is now no worthwhile mainstream party to whom I can honestly give my vote.
I’m leaning towards Reform even though I’m vehemently opposed to one of their policies that of an elected House of Lords, unless of course something better comes along. I can’t vote Labour, not in the party’s current state at least. Maybe if the shade of Gaitskell came back from the dead or someone like him emerged and became Labour leader then I might change my mind. Until then it will be the nation destroying, Id politics infested Jew hating mess that I will avoid like the Black Death. I’ve voted Tory before but I don’t see myself voting for the Boris party. As for the Lib Dems, I’d rather give my bank details to the Nigerian prince who tells me in an email that he has some money for me.