1984… The Day After

Yes, I shamelessly stole the title of this post from a Commodore 64 game that I used to love (although it was called 1985).

So, it’s the day after the election and the people have spoken, no one party has earned the confidence of the electorate. Unfortunately, due to the First Past the Post system of democracy that we have in the UK, the Liberal Democrats have lost seats even though they earned more votes and received a higher percentage than they had in 2005.

Of course, this higher number of votes was less than the media were estimating (and less than I was hoping for) but I have a feeling that part of this is down to the knowledge that “My vote won’t make a difference, I live in a safe seat.”

This is a feeling I’m used to, living in the North East I’ve learned that, no matter how I vote, the Labour candidate will always win – my seat (Newcastle Central) is so safe that I received 2 flyers throughout the whole campaign and have never met any of the candidates. The same happened in 2005 and I’m sure – without drastic political reform (is it just a coincidence that political reform and proportional representation share initials ;-P) I know it will happen the next time I’m called to the ballot box.

But that’s not the only issue I have with the election. Nick Clegg clearly stated that he would look at working with whoever won the greatest percent of the electorates vote. I know intellectually that this is the Conservatives and that – to show that the Lib Dems are different – he needs to offer to work with the Tories.

But in my heart I can’t resign myself to the oxymoron of a Liberal/Conservative alliance. The two parties are just so far apart that, even in these days of the Big Brother state watching us constantly, telescreens monitoring our every footstep through the country’s towns & cities, and the newspeak spouted in every politicians speech, in the papers, on TV, this particular form of doublethink is beyond me.

I can’t even begin to fathom what sort of concessions the (now smaller because of FPTP) Liberal Democrats will have to make. Nick will have to decide which minority doesn’t matter, which of the huge policy changes that the Liberal Democrats have fought for these many years that have passed he’s prepared to give up on. Are the Lib Dems going to become less Liberal? Or less Democratic? Because it’s the only way I can see them being able to work with the Conservatives.

The Lib Dems however have another quandry. They have a committed core of voters who truly, passionately, and vehemently support their stance on equality, immigration, political reform, taxation and the role of the state. So any concessions that Nick Clegg makes will be seen as a betrayal by the party faithful. It’s not a role that I can say I envy.

The next few days will be interesting to say the least. Nick – I wish you the best of luck but please remember to stay true to your party’s roots. Stay Liberal, stay Democratic, and don’t give in without a fight.

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