Lessons of Coalition (3): what do we Lib Dems need to learn?

LibDemVoice is running a daily feature, 'Lessons of Coalition', to assess the major do's and don'ts learned from our experience of the first 3 years in government. Reader contributions are welcome, either as comments or posts. The word limit is no more than 450 words, and please focus on just one lesson you think the party needs to learn. Simply email your submission to voice@libdemvoice.org and copy info@eastmidslibdems.org.uk.

Today Gareth Epps shares his thoughts …

Government: What's Occurrin?

A couple of years ago I took a trip to Barry Island and went on one of the rides in the amusement park. Demonstrably poorly-maintained, it was an exhilarating experience - for all the wrong reasons; uncomfortable and at times uncomfortably scary.

The same could be said for the mechanisms used reactively by the Party to handle policy initiatives in Government falling outside the Coalition Agreement and sitting uncomfortably with Liberal values. As a member of FPC I've had first-hand experience.

In some cases (welfare) they have cruelly exposed policy gaps, the number of which is overstated but in that area remains glaring. In others they have resulted in rushed presentations with those present sworn to secrecy even over matters of insignificant political sensitivity; secrecy that has been respected but where FPC could have helped the party communicate decisions and debunk myths, and therefore an own goal.

The lesson has evidently still not been learned on Home Affairs matters such as the immigration posters fiasco, where claim and counter-claim have been made regarding Lib Dem agreement or dissent from a decision. On occasion, teleconferencing has been used with moderate success to communicate internally, but such calls seem to have dried up. This experience should be used as the basis for a quicker and more reactive process that allows for proper internal communication and FPC reaction to decisions Liberals won't take kindly to, without it interfering with FPC's principal role of developing policies for the future.

Within Government there needs to be much better communication with Parliamentary Committees; advisors are there for a reason, one of which is to be a two-way communications channel. While some are very good at this, others, er, aren't.

Meanwhile too many decisions have been taken at odds with Liberal Democrat values, and with FPC unable to challenge this has hardly helped ease the party's predicament.
*Gareth Epps is co-Chair of the Social Liberal Forum and a member of FPC and FCC.

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