LIBERAL
LEADERSHIP
Updated 21st September 2009
JUNE 8th 2006Updated 21st September 2009
I have to admit that Ming Campbell's tax proposals make perfect sense. They have been ritually rubbished by the other two parties but this time they are wrong. The move away from the present tax structure to one that makes sense is something we have never had to do before, but now we have to. It is a trend that has to be started now. It may well be that there are flaws in the draft plans, and it may well be that international cooperation would be needed in some cases, but the principle behind these plans is correct. At the moment, the world's liberal democracies are failing to govern themselves well and the UK and the USA in particular are mind-bogglingly complacent in their view of what can't be done.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5056200.stm has the bare bones of it.
JUNE 9th
Paddy Ashdowne has remarked that these policies of rational taxation to achieve desirable and necessary aims will be adopted by the other parties, as have been other Liberal policies. I agree, though not all Liberal policies in the past have made sense. These will be adopted because they have to be. Just like an identity system and card, which is not Liberal policy.
SEPTEMBER 19th 2006
Now the new tax proposals are up for approval at the Liberal Party conference. In the course of the discussions some amusing verities have surfaced. There are those who think that putting much higher road tax on heavily consuming and polluting private vehicles are penalising motorists. This is because they assume people will ignore the need to control climate change and pay the extra tax.
DOH !!!!
The aim is that because they will not want to pay the extra tax, along with the high cost of fuel, they will sell their polluting vehicle and get a cheaper one. Alternatively they will keep it but use it very much less to save on fuel. If most people do not do this, we will have done nothing for the climate change problem in that area and will need all the money raised from the tax to promote technological solutions in oither areas.
There are others who say that the British public are so stupid that you cannot propose an intelligent tax system as they will not vote for the party that proposes it. Er, excuse me, you only have to get enough reasonably intelligent people to vote for you. They may have voted Labour, Conservative or even Communist or UKIP or anything before.They may have never voted in their lives. All you need is a majority.
To slow climate change requires immediate and MASSIVE change in taxation that hurts all those who DO NOT respond to it. Those who respond to it by ceasing to fly when they could stay at home or take the train will be taking the required action. They will be better off. Those who do not respond will be paying an immense premium. They would continue to cause climate change but the money they will contribute in tax can be used to counter their failure in other ways.
Finally, by proposing an intelligent tax system you will get it discussed and the other parties will have to adopt it anyway, so whoever wins we will get an improvement. What we do NOT want is any party proposing to carry on as usual.
I wrote that this morning. This evening I see I am not alone in finding it all obvious. Ming, talking to Jeremy Paxman tonight, is looking 10 years younger. Paxman's point that if successful the tax take would go down is relevant but not the killer point Paxman thinks it is, nor is it penalizing the poor. Paxman is not one of the world's thinkers. Ming held his own easily.
SEPTEMBER 17th 2007
Here we are over a year later and I am glad to see Ming is still here and the policy proposals I have admired are being stuck to and refined. Of course it is not easy. I think that nuclear power should definitely be part of our national energy plan for a great many reasons covered elsewhere. With regard to the policies that are focussed on climate ccontrol and energy sustainability it is likely that a coherent Lib Dem policy can force the issue in the next parliament even though Lib Dems do not win the election. They may well hold a critical number of seats, so a vote for the Lib Dems will not be wasted. Other Lib Dem policies may need further thought. They are right to look at the local-v-central government issues but the Post-Code Lottery paradox is indeed complex. Some Lib Dem news links here below.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6997145.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6997862.stm
SEPTEMBER 17th 2007
Ming Campbell is absolutely right to call for a referendum on whether or not the UK remains part of the European Union. A referendum on the new treaty is ridiculous and impossible - it would require a referendum on each clause, most of them on matters that have no consequence for UK citizens, and the rest of them a matter for our representatives in Parliament to study and vote on on our behalf. The hectoring Carolyn Quinn on the BBC Today Programme, after the situation had been painstakingly explained to her, said: "Why can't we just have a referendum on the constitution?" Because there is no constitution, dearie. There is no constitution because some major members have understood that the public in their countries are not ready or willing to sign up to one, precisely because they cannot be sure they understand the implications in the short, medium or long term of the many clauses in it, and these clauses may have to be negotiated and modified for particular cases. But because there are so many people of bad faith screwing the debate, hoping to manipulate British public opinion, and because much of the UK press falls into this category, we need to clear the air with a referendum on whether or not we intend to go on arguing for ever about the EU or getting it to work properly.
SEPTEMBER 20th 2007
Ming Campbell was in competent and commanding form at the conference. As someone pointed out, he has nothing to fear from the 'Young Turks', it's the 'Old Gits' who are boring everyone to death with their their moans. Campbell is wrong about Nuclear Power and ID Cards, but no matter. Nuclear will be done as it is a necessity interim power source, and ID cards will come because the very freedoms and rights that Lib Dems value can only be given to people who have a known identity. This simple fact is the basis of all citizenship systems and of civilisations since historical records have been available. When it comes to the very great privileges available to modern UK citizens, it is quite obviously needed. In the world of the 1950s, the thought of anyone being able to operate a mobile phone without a license would have been laughable. Today, anyone is free to do anything including have personal access to free global communcations. The only quid pro quo is they should have an identity, and establish it beyond doubt.
OCTOBER 15th 2007
The only reason for Cambell to resign now is to give whoever takes over as much time as possible to prove their mettle before the next election. I can see the logic, but they are all to young and wet behnd the ears or too boring to be PM anyway. I don't think I will enter politics till I am 75 and there is a chance of forming a completely new party around a completely new manifesto which would take some of the ideas from each of the present lot but be incompatible with either their current leading or current following movers and shakers. The current polls are of course utterly meaningless. It is clear that this resignation was a decision taken entirely by Campbell on his own, and it must have been very painful. It is a great loss to the Liberal party but it is the right decision. For Ming to have gone on to lead the party into an election in some years time would not have been right - not because of his age, but because the party has to have time to sort out and, if it gets it wrong, get rid of yet another leader.
The only reason for Cambell to resign now is to give whoever takes over as much time as possible to prove their mettle before the next election. I can see the logic, but they are all to young and wet behnd the ears or too boring to be PM anyway. I don't think I will enter politics till I am 75 and there is a chance of forming a completely new party around a completely new manifesto which would take some of the ideas from each of the present lot but be incompatible with either their current leading or current following movers and shakers. The current polls are of course utterly meaningless. It is clear that this resignation was a decision taken entirely by Campbell on his own, and it must have been very painful. It is a great loss to the Liberal party but it is the right decision. For Ming to have gone on to lead the party into an election in some years time would not have been right - not because of his age, but because the party has to have time to sort out and, if it gets it wrong, get rid of yet another leader.
Liberal Democrat leader resigns
Sir Menzies Campbell has resigned as leader of the Liberal
Democrats, "with immediate effect".
Senior Lib Dems Vincent Cable and Simon Hughes made the announcement, saying the party owed Sir Menzies "a huge debt of gratitude".
Deputy leader Mr Cable will take over as acting leader for now - a leadership timetable will be announced on Tuesday. Mr Hughes said Sir Menzies had taken the decision in the "interests of the party and of Liberal Democracy".
Sir Menzies took over as leader after Charles Kennedy quit in January 2006.
OCTOBER 15th 2007
Paddy Ashdown had some sensible words to say this morning on the BBC's Today programme. Later, Ming himself had a few pithy remarks on the press and their trivialisation of politics. I agree. Although we have some excellent journalists like David Aaronovitch, they are swamped by the comedians and the damaged goods who are bathing their own personal wounds in public. The BBC gives room for some fine contributors and analysis programs, but why they have to give a platform on Question Time to a pile of shit like Kelvin McKenzie when he already has a mass circulation newspaper in his pocket is beyond me. I suppose it is because, as with the Sun, unfortunately there are a lot of people just like him who can buy the paper and feel better.
OCTOBER 31st 2007
Well now, Nick Clegg has just ruled himself out of any singificant role in UK politics by saying that he would not abide by legislation introducing ID cards. It is clear he doesn't understand parliamentary democracy, or how ID cards will be introduced, or why ID cards are now needed in order to protect and grant the very freedoms his great party has championed since its foundation. The man is clueless as Cameron on this subject.
MARCH 9th 2008
Nick Clegg has been criticised and even ridiculed for causing his party, which had the strongest position on the EU, to walk out of Parliament when efused a debate and vote on whether to hold a referendum on whether or not the UK should remain in, or withdraw from the EU. It resulted in the Liberals actually abstaining on the vote to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. However, as Ken Clarke pointed out, the position of the Tories is so absurd and the position of Labour so buttoned up in response, that there is no other position for Liberals to take. They just do not want to take part in such a bogus voting procedure. I understand. Clegg is looking further ahead. He took the right decision, though whether that will be understood in time for him to get the credit is still unknown.
Personally I can understand the Labour position. Because of all the other matters that have intervened that affect Labour's position woith the electorate, there has been no chance to do what Blair envisaged which was a full blooded campaign to explain to the semi-literate semi-educated British public why e should cease our dithering and get stuck in to the EU and make it work better. The EU is the hope of the world, make no mistake, but to get this generation to understand it would require forcing every citizen to sit through the 20 hour viewing of THE WORLD AT WAR now showing on the History Channel. Not that we risk a similar war now; it is the history embedded in that documentary which they need to understand.
SEPTEMBER 21st 2009
Tim Farron MP is worth much of the rest of the Liberal Party.
He is their spokesman for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He is right up to speed on every one of these areas and a brilliant speaker. I hope Labour and Tories will be seriously scared by this man and take on board what he says needs to be done when we end up with a hung parliament. OK, he is a talker, a comedian, but he knows what he is talking about and I think he knows how to move from speech to action.
Vince Cable is the other big player. Not everything he says makes sense. Some of the programmes he would abandon to save money should instead be put on a slower burner, that is all. Abandonment would be a disaster, not save the money he estimates now and add to the cost later. Abandoning Trident would definitely not be right or lead to quicker reduction in nuclear arms. Abandoning ID cards would be ridiculous. But the spending on each could be controlled. However, real savings can only come from right-across-the-board reduction in the salaries of a great many people who are absurdly over-paid and over-pensioned- about a million of them. If those paid by government will not accept a reduction in their salaries then the money will have to be taken off them by other means. In the private sector, the same will have to apply. The argument that those who don't like it will leave the country does not wash. Let them go. Call their bluff. The argument that others will go on strike will not wash either - call their bluff. That is what Cable would do and he is right. However, many of the Liberals traditional policies will have to be dumped.
The big thing in Cable and Clegg's proposals is the concentration on employment for school leavers, but I think the government is already aware of the problem.
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