Elwyn Watkins and Party Loyalties

I received an email the other day from the Liberal Democrat hierarchy imploring me to volunteer my services to Elwyn Watkins in Saddleworth, and give my time to help him get elected.

Now given that his opponent, Phil Woolas, the people representing him, have been found guilty of lying their way into office, I should be enthused to jump to the assistance of Mr Watkins and make sure he claims the place in Parliament that is justly his. The problem is, I’m not and I won’t, because this is a very different political landscape to that we had in May.

Since being given a slice of power from the election result, the Lib Dems have taken a kicking for forming a coalition with the Tories, a much of it has been unfair. Some party members were up in arms about an alliance with the Conservative Party from the start, but that rather suggests that they didn’t understand the manifesto. You can’t believe in Proportional Representation if you only believe in it so long as you get the result you prefer. You go with the hand you are dealt, and after a disappointing set of results, the Lib Dems did not find themselves with too many options.

It was clear that a period of election, hung parliament, election, hung parliament would not have seen the country thrive at a time it needed decisiveness. There was no practical chance of a coalition with Labour and that left one choice only, and although it was not a very palatable one to the likes of...well, me...there is a need to recognise it had to be done.

Where they have failed is not being able to trumpet what they have achieved. Politics is bound by collective responsibility – Blair’s Labour was exceptional at it – meaning everyone is on message. So despite the fact that dyed-in-the-wool Conservatism has been diluted by their presence, they have been stymied in shouting that achievement from the rooftops.

Meanwhile, Labour are quite enjoying opposition, the electorate having already forgotten the preceding years of arrogance that made them utterly undeserving of a 4th term of office. They can now, as their position suggests, say the opposite. But let’s look at the biggest controversy thus far in this government – student course fees.

How would Labour have reacted to the Brown Report? Well, of course no-one will ever know, but you can bet course fees would have gone up. As for paying those, certain Labour members (now) say that they support a graduate tax. A graduate tax would have meant that all students would pay nothing up front, then a tax to pay their fees for the rest of their working lives. Meanwhile, the Government have proposed introducing a system that sees them pay nothing up front, and students’ paying what is effectively a tax, probably for the rest of their working lives. But only when their income reaches a certain level. Spot the difference? The only one is that the Government has put a price on the education.

But anyway, back to Saddleworth. You almost feel a little for Woolas. Actually, that's not true, but he has been unlucky. Had they been in power, Labour would have fought tooth and nail for him – let’s face it, a dirty campaign is not unusual, and Lib Dems & Tories have been equally as guilty in other places. But in their current position they have cut him adrift ruthlessly, in the pursuit of good PR and the safer seat they will probably achieve.

Because ultimately that is the decision I suspect the Saddleworth population will make. The reason is the same as the one I made when asked to campaign – that is despite reasonable defences I can make of the Lib Dem position, Elywn Watkins isn’t standing in a General Election, he is in a by-election. The simple fact is that we already know what the make up of the Government is and I wouldn’t vote for it given the choice.