Liberal Left and What It Means

A few days ago it was announced that a new centre-left pressure group would be launched within the Liberal Democrats called ‘Liberal Left.’ Liberal Left seeks to promote Liberalism as an outlook of the centre-left. The group is opposed to the current Coalition Government between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, which it sees as being “Eurosceptic, neo-liberal, and socially conservative.” The group aims to oppose the Coalition on economic and fiscal policy and to provide a “positive alternative”. Furthermore Liberal Left aims to create a broad alliance on the left between the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Greens. Ultimately Liberal Left would like to replace the current centre-right Coalition Government with a new centre-left Coalition Government (after the next General Election) between the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats.

As someone who openly describes himself as a ‘Lefty Liberal’ I warmly welcome the launch of Liberal Left. Anyone who opposes Euroscepticism, Neo-Liberalism and Social Conservatism can’t be all that bad. It is clear that the current neo-liberal austerity plan of the current government is failing to tackle the deficit or achieve social justice and a fairer Keynesian alternative is much needed. Hopefully Liberal Left can embody such an alternative. The Liberal Democrats are after all quite literally the party of John Maynard Keynes.

What could Liberal Left mean for the Lib Dems as a political party? There are four points to mention.

Firstly, the group has been depicted as the anti-Clegg Lib Dems. This would be a great shame if it was the case, since Nick Clegg is most definitely the best person to be leading the Liberal Democrats. Like it or not he is the first Liberal leader since Archie Sinclair in 1945 to have achieved a role for his party in government. Furthermore in the party leaders’ polls Nick Clegg is often seen as a better leader by the public than the Labour leader, Ed Miliband.

Secondly, Liberal Left will likely be drawn into competition with the other centre-left pressure group in the party, the Social Liberal Forum (SLF). Liberal Left is avowedly anti-Coalition whereas the SLF while frequently criticising the Coalition remains cautiously pro-Coalition. Hence a clear division between the anti-Coalition centre-left and the pro-Coalition centre-left in the party. It is unclear which group will become the dominant voice of the Lib Dem centre-left. I hope that the two groups can cooperate together to advance the cause of centre-left Liberalism.

Thirdly, let’s hope that Liberal Left maintains to pursue its objectives within the Liberal Democrats and that it seeks to keep the party united. The last thing we want to see is the creation of a Liberal Left Party in a kind of SDP-style split from the Lib Dems.

Finally and most importantly, Liberal Left will hopefully become a venue for radical centre-left liberal politics that seeks to challenge the current authoritarian neo-liberal consensus that has dominated British Politics for over 30 years. Thus providing a centre-left liberal alternative based on the ideas of Keynes, Beveridge and Grimond.

Let it never be said that Liberal Politics is boring. Liberal Left displays a new radical venture within the Liberal Democrats. As to whether it is a short-lived phase or a long-term political movement, we’ll have to wait until the pressure group is officially launched in Gateshead on March 10^th at the Lib Dem Spring Conference.   

Vince Cable sympathises with the 99%

A week ago I stated that I sympathise with the Occupy London protesters in the sense that they seek to protect the poorest 99% against the excesses and greed of the top 1%. Following endorsements from senior politicians from the Green Party and the Labour Party; I argued it was time for the Liberal Democrats to state their support for the 99%. Yesterday on the Politics Show, the Business Secretary Vince Cable announced that he sympathised with the cause of the Occupy London protesters. Occupy London which is primarily based outside St Paul's Cathedral is campaigning against gross inequalities of wealth, corporate corruption and basic unfairness in our society. The endorsement of such a senior Liberal Democrat and government figure will act as a political boost for the primary aim of the Occupy London movement which is to protect the poorest 99%. Vince Cable and the Liberal Democrats have long been campaigning for a fairer more equitable capitalism, where the rich pay their fair share. It has been stated by the media (often mistakenly) that the camp at St Pauls is an anti-capitalist protest. Although much of Occupy London is emboldened by campaigners who are Marxists, Trotskyites, socialists and anarchists not all at the camp are anti-capitalist. Indeed, mine and I daresay Vince Cable’s support for the protesters outside St Paul's comes out of a belief that our current neoliberal capitalism is increasingly unfair and that we need to create a capitalism that is fairer, more progressive and that works for everyone not just the ultra-rich top 1% in our society.

To read an article from the Guardian concerning Vince Cable’s statement on the Politics Show please follow this link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/nov/13/vince-cable-sympathise-occupy-london

I stand with the 99% and so should the Lib Dems

A couple of weeks ago I went to visit the Occupy London camp outside St Pauls Cathedral. As a student studying politics at University as well as someone who was slightly sympathetic to the Occupy movement; I felt that it was a part of British political history that I just had to witness. Occupy London was the British arm of a movement that in the last few weeks has spread from Wall Street to Central Europe and from Oakland to London. The camp seemed to consist of two main groups your usual SWP Trotskyite socialist types and your typical anarchist types. The camp was a very far left institution complete with anti-capitalist banter and far left posters that reminded me somewhat of Soviet-era propaganda. This camp had been established for little more than a week when I visited it on Sunday, October 23, 2011. While I was visiting the camp they held a "general assembly." This acted as a forum for discussion and to report the progress the movement was having. While I was in attendance it had been decided that a midnight curfew should come into effect. At the time I did think it was not very anarchist for the Occupy LSX campaigners to be imposing a curfew on themselves; but I suppose they would argue it was the fact that they were choosing to impose it on themselves not an external force doing it for them. Overall the Occupy movement aims seem to be to represent the poorest 99% against the greed and recklessness of the top 1%. They are campaigning against corporate greed, gross inequality and corporate capital dominating our democracies. I for one felt it was refreshing to see that for once someone was standing up to the vested financial elites in the City of London whom got our economy into such a dire mess only a few years ago. It was about time that people stood up against this clear injustice. Despite some media coverage, not all the people in the Occupy London camp were anti-capitalist there were even some posters stating that the protest should not be viewed as one that was anti-capitalist. It is clear that they were campaigning against the unfairness of the present neoliberal economic order. Now although I do not sympathise with the ends that the extreme socialists and anarchists wish to achieve, I do sympathise with the fact that these people were making a stand against injustice and doing it so peacefully and carefully. Contrary to some reports it didn't seem to me like the protesters were seriously preventing the Cathedral from being used. They even seem to have taken great care to ensure that they received a good public hearing in the press.

On Saturday, November 5, the Green Party leader, Caroline Lucas addressed the Occupy London rally at St Pauls. Thus it is clear that the Green Party has given its support to the aims of a fairer country that Occupy London seem to promote. This was followed on the Sunday, by relative endorsement by the Labour Party leader, Ed Miliband who declared himself to be a supporter of the 99% against the 1%. One has to wonder whether his record in government truly makes him out to be a worthy patron of the 99%. Especially when you consider the fact that both Ed Miliband and Ed balls were working in Gordon Brown's Treasury when bankers were earning obscene bonuses, company directors were earning extreme salaries and when the economic system was becoming increasingly more unstable due to a lack of financial regulation. Furthermore this is not to mention Labour's 13 year love affair with Rupert Murdoch something that even continued when Miliband himself became leader of the Labour Party. It is clear that during Miliband's time in the Treasury as well as during his time as a government minister the top 1% got wealthier and almost brought the global economy to the brink of destruction. I for one hope that Ed Miliband is not using the slogans of the 99% and the 1% to further his and his party's objectives through cynical opportunism and self publication; Miliband should not try to dominate concepts that go far beyond that of the Labour Party.

It is now time I believe for the Liberal Democrats to endorse the notion of being on the side of the 99%. Do not forget that the term 99% will encompass the poor, the working class and the overwhelming majority of middle-class people. It is hardly your usual class warring far left factions. I would seriously hope that Nick Clegg as well as other senior Liberal Democrats like Simon Hughes and Tim Farron can speak confidently about standing up for the 99%. It is the duty of a radical progressive party like the Liberal Democrats to do exactly this. I may not endorse socialism or anarchism but I do think we need a fairer society, economy and politics that moves beyond the current domination of neoliberalism. I would prefer (like some at the Occupy London camp) to have a fairer more progressive capitalism that works for everyone rather than no capitalism at all. It is this notion of a fairer more progressive capitalism, politics and society that Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats should be promoting. Although this is nothing new to the Lib Dems it must be placed in the context that the top 1% need to pay their fair share and that the lower 99% need to be protected and supported from the excess and instability of neoliberal capitalism. Finally I hope that the Occupy London movement moves to encompass many progressive and left-leaning groups beyond the far left; especially political parties like the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Greens.

We are a Centre-Left Party, now let’s get out there and prove it!

I for one am very proud to consider myself on the centre-left of British politics. I believe that three years ago I joined the party of the centre-left. And I also believe that as a party of government, this party promotes a centre-left agenda and enacts many of its centre-left policies. Surely, goes the conventional wisdom this party must be the Labour Party. However it is not the Labour Party; I became interested in politics due to my opposition to what was then an authoritarian Labour government. No this governing party of the centre-left is the Liberal Democrats.

How can you say that? Many people will ask. Surely the Liberal Democrats are a Tory leaning party of the centre at best. Surely they can't be described as centre-left; after all they are in coalition with a centre-right Conservative party. They will say. No I'm adamant that many of the policies and principles of the Liberal Democrat supporters, members, MPs and government ministers are those of a genuine party of the centre-left.

I would argue that examples of such centre-left policies promoted by the Liberal Democrats include the following. Restoring the civil liberties lost under the last government. Helping the poorest pupils through the pupil premium and restoring the pensions link to earnings. Being the first party of government to genuinely focus on tackling climate change. Limiting the role of private companies in the controversial NHS reforms and ruling out the profit motive in our schools. Presenting a measured reasonable response after the summer riots. Ending up front fees for part-time students. Having a referendum on changing the voting system, pledging to democratise the House of Lords and planning to clean up party funding. Finally, we have maintained the top 50% rate of income tax, while ensuring that the poorest 880,000 people have been taken out of paying any income tax altogether. These are all policies that anyone with a slight centre-left sympathy would agree with. Now of course these outlooks will be counted by accusations of enacting harsh spending cuts. And indeed it cannot be ignored that the Coalition is implementing a harsh deficit reduction strategy; however Labour are hardly an anti-cuts party, since seven out of every eight pounds cut last year were agreed to by Alistair Darling in his last Labour Party budget. If Labour had won the election they would be cutting much of the same things as the Coalition is. For evidence of this just look at local Labour councils, many of whom shut sure start centres prior to the last local elections; whereas every council run by a Liberal Democrat kept the sure start centres open. If you like we are in the honest, responsible centre-left party outlining our programme of austerity simply because we have to do because we are now a party of coalition government. The same would be true if Labour was still in power and not behind the comfort blanket of opposition.

The truth is that the Liberal Democrats are the most left-leaning party of government since James Callaghan's Labour party in the 1970s. We as a party have a great centre-left message to promote. Centre-left voters in Britain should not be turning away from us and voting for an irresponsible centre-left party like Labour or for a divisive separatist party like the SNP; they should be voting Liberal Democrat. Ed Miliband’s Labour Party continues to be committed to erosions of this our civil liberties like a CCTV surveillance society and the DNA database. They are certainly taking an increasingly illiberal stance towards immigration. They remain unwilling to introduce a proportional voting system or elect the House of Lords. They remain unwilling to scrap Trident. And this is before we mention some harsh things Labour did in government like eroding civil liberties, illegally invading Iraq, privatising parts of our NHS and abolishing the 10% rate of income tax. None of these things would be supported by anybody of the centre-left.

We as Liberal Democrats shouldn't be complacent with our centre-left voters running off to other parties. We shall be doing our utmost to sell our centre-left message and get them back to voting for us. Poll ratings between 8% and 12% are utterly dismal. We should not have UKIP nipping at our heels. We should not let Labour claim the centre-left with anti-progressive policies or with collective amnesia of their 13 years in government. This centre-left message needs to resonate from the leadership of the Liberal Democrats right down to the grassroots. It needs to go from Great George Street to your street. And this message is simple; "we are a centre-left party, we are enacting centre-left policies, we are restraining the right-wing elements within the Tories and we are not going anywhere until the lack of freedom, fairness and justice in our society is tackled." Now let's get out there and reclaim the centre-left ground where we so rightly belong.

The Social Liberal Alternative to Neoliberalism

The present system of free market capitalism known as neoliberalism is clearly teetering on the edge of a major crisis. ‘Occupy’ protests have swept the Western world in recent days and more and more people are becoming hostile to the notions of austerity and additional bank bailouts. Capitalist globalisation is clearly in need of radical reform. However the issue is not whether we should abandon liberalism but rather how can we strengthen it. Neoliberalism in my opinion is not liberal; despite its namesake. It does not promote social justice and greater fairness, it does not enhance our democracy and it does not value individuals acting within their local communities. It is necessary to find a different outlook that can truly further liberal aims in the 21st century. This outlook is social liberalism. I have written an article for the Social Liberal Forum that outlines a social liberal alternative to neoliberalism. I also critique the new and emerging Labour Party antidote to neoliberalism known as ‘Blue Labour.’ Please read my article for the Social Liberal Forum in full by following this link: http://socialliberal.net/2011/10/15/the-real-alternative-to-neoliberalism/

Big Money Politics Beware!

For many decades the two biggest parties in British politics have had a financial edge over their opponents. There is a clear link between the achievement of power and the ability to receive vast sums of money from party political donations. The very concept of big money politics is arguably quite regressive to a modern liberal democracy, because the party that has the best policies should win the election not the one with the biggest bank balance. Also it's worth noting that big money politics is linked to the corrosive effects of lobbying with the party more concerned about their next big donations and not what is in the best long-term interests of the country. Furthermore, the political parties become so reliant on big money donations that they do not strive to create a party with a mass membership; hence party politics suffers as a result. The Conservative Party has been in the pocket of big business and corporate Britain for over the past 40 years. While the Labour Party on the other hand, has been in the pocket of the trade unions literally since its creation in 1900 and has been exclusively in the receipt of trade union donations since the 1920s. Big money politics has been a factor in Britain for decades (if not centuries) and it seemed like this big money consensus between Labour and the Conservatives would go unchallenged with big business and the trade unions eagerly funding their preferred party. However could this be about to change?

Today the Independent reports that Nick Clegg is intent on tackling the big money politics that has dominated our political discourse for so long. The Liberal Democrats are Britain's third-largest party and currently the junior partner in the ruling coalition. They have never been reliant on the support of big business or the trade unions; they have just been dependent on private donations from supporters and party members; much like all the other smaller parties. Mr Clegg as Deputy Prime Minister is putting forward some radical plans that would see the wide scale reform of party political donations. Amongst the Deputy Prime Minister's ideas are to cap individual donations to political parties at £50,000. He is also considering whether small donations to political parties should qualify for tax relief, similar to the current situation for charities.

Naturally, the vested interests in both Labour and the Conservatives are concerned about Mr Clegg's plans. This would seriously curtail the financial clout that the trade unions and big business have over British politics. Although this may have a positive effect on party politics as parties will need to go out of their way to recruit new members to ensure that they receive adequate income, hence parties being more focused on the concerns of their members than the concerns of their donors. In this Independent article, it also outlines recent donations made to the main political parties. Between April and June this year, the Labour Party received £3.2 million in donation, £2.7 million of which came from trade unions. In the same period the Conservatives received £4.2 million in donation, a million pounds of which came from wealthy companies and £2.4 million in donation came from wealthy individuals. The Liberal Democrats received just short of £1 million in donation of which over half a million came from wealthy companies. Here is the link to the Independent article: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-worried-by-cleggs-plan-to-cap-party-donations-2343467.html.

I for one hope that Nick Clegg succeeds in tackling big money politics in our country. It has been a long-held aim of the Liberal Democrats to tackle big money politics and I sincerely hope that they succeed in doing so. Should Mr Clegg and his Liberal Democrat party be successful it will be a good day for British democracy with the tarnish of big money politics removed and hopefully our democracy and our political parties will be strengthened as a result; without the albatross of big money financial interests hanging around their necks.

Great Simon Hughes Comment Piece

There’s a great comment piece by the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Simon Hughes for today’s Observer. The comment piece comes as a response to the recent English riots. Read the comment piece here:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/14/profits-top-simon-hughes?intcmp=239.