High Peak Liberal Democrats
As a student at the University of Manchester you probably think I've spent a lot of my time recently marching around, chanting, waving placards and generally protesting about the changes to the funding of Higher Education that the Conservative /Liberal Democrat coalition government is bringing in (let us remember that they come into effect for those starting in 2012 and as such nothing has changed yet). You probably also think that I believe the Liberal Democrats have betrayed me and every other student who voted for them in the general election. If you do believe either or both those statements then I am sorry to tell you that you are totally wrong.
I haven't marched anywhere, I haven't chanted anything, I haven't so much as picked up a placard and I certainly do not feel betrayed by the Liberal Democrats. The simple reason for this is that all the Liberal Democrats election manifesto commitments, just like every other parties, are made on the basis of them being the sole party in government. The Liberal Democrats are not the sole party in government; they are in a coalition with the Conservatives. They are not the majority party in that coalition either, they are the minority party (and a rather small minority party at that). As soon as parties enter into a coalition agreement they have to do something remarkably democratic and reach a compromise. They have to compromise on which of their pre-election manifesto commitments are going to be kept and become coalition policy, and which parts are going to have to be dropped. It would be impossible for all of both parties commitments to be met as on many points their commitments were polar opposites. As the junior partners in the coalition the Liberal Democrats were never going to get everything they wanted, the Conservatives were always going to get more, but many Conservatives would argue that the Liberal Democrats got more than their fair share of concessions.
Yes tuition fees are going up, and don't get me wrong I am a long, long way from being happy about that, but who knows what the Conservatives would have done if they had been in sole government. Would there be a cap on fees at all anymore? Let us not forget also for example that it was Conservative policy to renew the Trident missile defence system; thanks to the Liberal Democrats the decision on what to do has been deferred to the next government by which time hopefully sense will be seen and the system will be scrapped.
Most importantly of all though the Liberal Democrats got the Conservatives, the most pro "First past the post" system supporters to agree to hold a binding referendum on voting reform. Yes the alternative vote system is not perfect (and I would argue that no system ever is) but it is without a shadow of a doubt preferable to the current system. The difference between the percentage of the vote that the Liberal Democrats received nationwide in the general election (23%), and the percentage of seats they won (9%) is staggering and surely shows how poorly the current system reflects the will of the electorate.
If we vote YES for the Alternative vote then we are voting yes for a system that will better represent the views of the public and should lead to the Liberal Democrats, along with other smaller parties gaining a stronger voice in politics. With a stronger voice and more seats the Liberal Democrats will be able to have a greater say in any future coalition, or even who knows one day in sole government? If the Liberal Democrats went back on election manifesto commitments in that scenario then you would find me protesting to the best of my ability and most likely calling them all the names under the sun, but for now I'll be keeping my placards safely tucked away and making sure I vote YES for the Alternative vote.
Elected unopposed as a Liberal Democrat to Charlesworth Parish Council - Simmondley Ward
Liberal Democrat candidate for High Peak Borough Council - Saint Johns Ward
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