tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881762807913180318.post6747790546732763718..comments2024-01-23T16:53:02.428+00:00Comments on Mark Thompson: Ken Clarke shows how Labour's Lib Dem "betrayal" narrative is nonsenseMark Thompsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00744387583593537268noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881762807913180318.post-6651676392017362942010-07-01T17:58:22.359+01:002010-07-01T17:58:22.359+01:00Yes Libhom. Or fairies could magic the debt away.
...Yes Libhom. Or fairies could magic the debt away.<br /><br />Get real or get out.Tax me more please i've still got a few pence left.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881762807913180318.post-29732894747218056122010-07-01T12:48:26.790+01:002010-07-01T12:48:26.790+01:00Labor does have a point. The UK, like US states, c...Labor does have a point. The UK, like US states, could easily resolve its budget issues without any cuts. All that would need to be done is to make the rich pay a bit closer to their fair share in taxes.libhomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05537213558568338561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881762807913180318.post-68339322411496113622010-07-01T10:48:03.337+01:002010-07-01T10:48:03.337+01:00@redarsedbaboon: I don't understand the first ...@redarsedbaboon: I don't understand the first part of your comment. Could you clarify?<br /><br />As to the substantive part, I am not in denial. I am facing the reality of what it means to be in a coalition. We have 57 MPs, the Tories have over 300. We got 24% of the vote, the Tories got 37%. There is plenty in the coalition agreement that is from the Lib Dems, we have already seen some measures in the budget. We haven't surrendered to anyone. Of course we are not going to get everything that we want but neither are the Tories. That is how compromise works.<br /><br />I am fascinated to hear what you think should have happened given the election result. Allow the Tories to govern in minority for a few months until they were finally toppled and then await a likely Tory majority as the electorate punish the parties who appeared to play politics at the time of a national financial crisis? Go into a wobbly "rainbow" coalition forever teetering on the brink of collapse and expressly against what Labour seemed to want (they were psychologically prepared for opposition after the election) with likely a similar result of a Tory majority.<br /><br />You say that you do not see the Lib Dems as Labour's natural partner but in that case why are you so scathing about the fact that we have gone into coalition with the Tories? As far as I am concerned it was the right way forward given how the country had voted.Mark Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00744387583593537268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881762807913180318.post-45362344726436783952010-07-01T09:41:50.130+01:002010-07-01T09:41:50.130+01:00I'll say it clearly.
YOU AGREED WITH THESE PO...I'll say it clearly.<br /><br />YOU AGREED WITH THESE POLICIES A FEW WEEKS AGO.<br /><br />You can't say "It's all your fault! Yes!" When you would have done EXACTLY THE SAME had you won a majority.<br /><br />Mark, you are in complete denial that you've been sold a pup by the Tories. You're all like a character in a shit sitcom trying to row back from an embarrassing statement: "well, when I said I hated your mother's hair, what I actually meant was". You fold your arms and smugly grin at anything you can proudly call 'liberal', no matter how small it is (and how unlikely it is to actually see the light of day - this is clearly the prelude to Clarke being edged out), and then sign up to another billion tory policies that your leaders were decrying in the strongest possible terms a few weeks ago. That's not the spirit of compromise in coalition, that's the spirit of surrender and desperation. <br /><br />And please, can you abandon this pompous, fatuous, self-affirming line about Labour seeing the LibDems as an extension of themselves. I don't, I never did, and I'm glad about that - the percentage of idiots within Labour is high enough without having a whole new constituency composed <i>entirely</i> of idiots.redarsedbaboonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881762807913180318.post-51651777030426137782010-07-01T00:25:49.330+01:002010-07-01T00:25:49.330+01:00Excellent stuff. With regards to the two previous ...Excellent stuff. With regards to the two previous comments, the main point to remember is that the public can tire of strategies at any moment. Therefore, you always need more than one strategy.<br /><br />So from a Labour point of view, one can always argue that repealing the foxhunting ban is not a matter of urgency, because the main focus is the economy. And from a Lib Dem/Tory view, it is important to point out that it was not just the economy being in trouble that angered people, but also the extent to which they were misled and lied to by politicians. A government with 33% of the vote misled 100% of the electorate. If Labour think that people will soon forget about the 2005-2010 Parliament, they are in for a nasty shock.CJ Stanleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07707451091426754630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881762807913180318.post-67417858272168209432010-06-30T23:20:17.753+01:002010-06-30T23:20:17.753+01:00"We wouldn't necessarily have to do this ..."We wouldn't necessarily have to do this if your lot hadn't Fubar'ed the country."<br /><br />That 'counter-attack' is effective for a maximum of two years. After that YOU get ALL the blame for what the country looks like.<br /><br />Conversely the "how could you do this" attack is good for the whole parliament- it is a luxury of being in opposition that you exploited with abandon before May !!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881762807913180318.post-77126152882925603952010-06-30T21:00:23.294+01:002010-06-30T21:00:23.294+01:00The blame the Libs attack is a strategy. Labour wi...The blame the Libs attack is a strategy. Labour will keep at this fault line for the entire length of the parliament.<br />Its a good attack strategy because of the many left leaning Libs and the because it gives a story to the media to explore.<br />At each new announcement Labour can react with horror, and say , "How could you! How could you increase VAT on single mothers and pensioners and the disabled"<br />That will be the headline and Labour will hope that some LD cabinet member must come out and defend their actions, supposedly against the wishes of those who voted for them.<br />It is a good strategy. Exploit the fissure. Mine the gap.<br /><br />But there is a downside. The obvious answer, as Vince Cable admirably demonstrated on QT, is ..<br /><br />"We wouldn't necessarily have to do this if your lot hadn't Fubar'ed the country."<br /><br />And that works on the economy, environment, crime, drugs, pensions ..anything. The answer brings up Labour's many, many failures and keeps reminding the public of them.<br />It also plays to the current desire of the country to see the country working together and further damages Labour when they just attack everything. It matters nothing to Hattie, she's only playing to her own party. But Dave Mil. will have to find a much more coherent argument to take to the country.<br /><br />If Clegg can get his people to realise this, and remember that counter attack line, things should go much smoother until a genuine conflict arises.Bill Quango MPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14861116614665461655noreply@blogger.com