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Vince Cable wrote an interesting article in Friday’s Independent, the most interesting part of it was the last paragraph:

“Unless he (Cameron), tells us what the Tories would cut he is no more credible than the government front bench. Labour seem to have given up – so now it’s up to the Liberal Democrats to take on the Tories and expose their subterfuge.”

However laid bare, is the fundamental flaw and fantasy at the heart of the Libdems that has been there for as long as I can remember and when they were called the Liberal Party, they just don’t cut the mustard and don’t have broad voter appeal.

Hard Facts

Whether in the US or over here in the UK, the “Two Party System” is a natural consequence of our “Adversarial System”. The Libdems have often had “attractive” politicians as individuals, what they have always lacked is the willingness to tailor their offering to the market. They are rather like a car manufacturer whose products few people buy and instead of redesigning their cars to suit demand, want the introduction of “proportional sales” to ensure they flog some, all very silly.

My Comment to the Cable Article

I like Vince Cable looks as though he is an “ace geezer” but unfortunately in this article, rather like his performance last night on Question Time unless dancing, he comes up rather short. Yes this is politics but still he writes in that manner peculiar to the Libdems, where they can propose all sorts of things, touch on sensible looking proposals but without the threat of ever having to implement them, a sort of back seat driving act.

Mr Cable may poke fun at Cameron all he likes but that is because he knows that Cameron is going to have to deal with it, the Libdems won’t. The most extraordinary thing about the Libdems, much of which I attribute to the foolish decision to replace Charlie with the awful Ming, is their complete lack of progress in the polls. Lord Above, if they cannot take votes from the most unpopular Labour Government ever (Sunny Jim Calorgas was at least liked, Brown is despised), when will they ?

The reality is that they are still seen by most voters as the “alternative to the Tories” and apparently have no appeal to disillusioned Labour Supporters who would rather not turn out than vote Libdem. The truth is that the Libdem Leadership is not very smart because if it was, it would have already stolen some of “Labour’s Clothes” and shifted to the Left in a similar way that Blair and Labour did to the Tories in 1997. The point is, if the Libdems haven’t usurped Labour and be challenging for being the second biggest Parliamentary Party today, when will they have a better chance ?

Finally, if you are going to do Blue Sky thinking, one needs to look beyond just the immediate problems and project forwards to the continuing problems of an ever ageing population and an ever diminishing tax generating workforce. Looked at intelligently and although by total accident (SNAFU), in solving this crisis, we may set up workable solutions for the next demographic one.

Another Thread

Someone started a thread based upon “St Vince” which produced both positive and very negative responses:

Thread:

“Simple choice, Alistair Darling, George Osborne or Vince Cable? Who do you trust most, who has the most insightful policies, who is most likely to effectively manage such a department?”

Baldy

Darling did as he was told by Brown. Like Blair with a Foreign Secretary, they had no power, Blair controlled that so too Brown, Darling is his stooge. So as Brown got us here, he’s out. The Libdems haven’t a prayer of forming a Government this side of the next Ice Age so, Osborne it will have to be – that’s life !

Thread:

“It’s losers like you that have given us the country we have got.”

Baldy

No, I suspect not as my name is neither Blair nor Brown and I’ve never voted for Labour ever however it may comfort you to know that thanks to the two gentlemen mentioned, both you, I and everyone in the UK is now a Big Time Loser.

The problem is something called reality and in that context, Labour won’t get re-elected, the Libdems won’t either, a Hung Parliament is as good as declaring the UK bankrupt so there is only one choice.

The Conservatives come to the game with “clean hands” and if they move firmly enough, will be able to restore confidence in the people we will need to sell Guilt Edge debt to which will reduce the time it takes to sort plus, reduce the annual interest(greater than the Defence Budget), we will have to pay.

Yep Reality Sucks but now welcome to Losers Corner – get over it !

Thread:

“If you had followed Cable’s writings, you would have realized that the cause of the present problems are St. Margaret with her free market, trickle down philosophy, which proved so much pie in the sky. Clean hands is not what the Conservative party has, they are the problem, not the solution. The Labour party is also the problem and that is the problem for we British. Vince Cable is the only person who seems to understand anything and he may be the only one, which also is a problem for the British people. However, if there is a sniff of proportional representation, I will go for it because it will preclude dangers like Thatcher and Blair. A Liberal vote is the only sensible vote as such because a hung parliament will assure that no idiot can pursue their personal agenda. Government by the most inefficient means is the safest.”

Baldy

Yes I read it but I am afraid that a Liberal vote will still be a wasted vote because they haven’t sorted themselves out and delivered a cogent agenda that appeals to the electorate. Given the circumstances, they should be neck and neck at least with Labour in the polls but they are stuck on 16-18% and however incompetent Labour hover on 30%.

Whoever is the Leader, whichever is the Party, it is all the same in one sense and St. Vince is not the answer I’m afraid and we certainly don’t need PR and a Hung Parliament. PR has been the constant bleat of the Liberals for generations but only because they have lacked the ability to breakthrough electorally and recover the working class vote that Labour took from them almost 100 years ago.

The real solution is for high quality Independent candidates to dilute the professional politicians and their party based careers because right now, we live in an elected dictatorship of up to 5 years at a time. You may believe in what you like, vote for whom you please but don’t be foolish and project the Libdem failure on the Tories or Labour. Alec Ferguson of Man Utd said one year they failed to win the Premiership: “The League doesn’t lie, you play the matches and you have the points or not.” The Libdems just don’t have the points – there is no conspiracy here.