News12 mins ago
Realistic or a pipe dream
11 Answers
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8269837.stm
Nick Clegg has shunned talk of deals with other parties in a keynote conference speech and instead told Lib Dems: "I want to be prime minister."
The Lib Dem leader was bidding to reassert his authority after a bruising week - and reach out to disaffected Labour voters thinking of voting Tory.
In his speech he urged voters not to sleepwalk into a Tory government and opt for "real change" instead.
The Lib Dems say their private polling shows the next election is "wide open".
Mr Clegg spoke without notes for just under 50 minutes - and his speech was greeted with a standing ovation from delegates in the Bournemouth centre, which included wife Miriam and former party leaders Lord Ashdown and Sir Menzies Campbell in the front row.
Is this the equivalent of Prepare for power that David Steele said back in the early eighties?
Are Lib Dem a force to be reckoned with or are they potential King makers (in a hung parliament)
Nick Clegg has shunned talk of deals with other parties in a keynote conference speech and instead told Lib Dems: "I want to be prime minister."
The Lib Dem leader was bidding to reassert his authority after a bruising week - and reach out to disaffected Labour voters thinking of voting Tory.
In his speech he urged voters not to sleepwalk into a Tory government and opt for "real change" instead.
The Lib Dems say their private polling shows the next election is "wide open".
Mr Clegg spoke without notes for just under 50 minutes - and his speech was greeted with a standing ovation from delegates in the Bournemouth centre, which included wife Miriam and former party leaders Lord Ashdown and Sir Menzies Campbell in the front row.
Is this the equivalent of Prepare for power that David Steele said back in the early eighties?
Are Lib Dem a force to be reckoned with or are they potential King makers (in a hung parliament)
Answers
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Politics is now unfortunately more and more about coming over well on television and less and less about policies.
Your average voter really has no idea of the policies pu forward by the different parties but goes along to vote on what he's seen on the news or heard in the pub or red in the tabloids.
But the Lib Dems do have a bit of a history of hanging policies out for an airing only to come back and find them pinched by the other parties - that is I suppose power of a sort!
THey could be power brokers in a hung parliament but there's a lot of luck in that and they have to win more seats to shorten those odds. Clegg singularly failed to capitalise out of the expenses scandel and whilst that was not exactly an open goal it was a good opportunity.
Like it or not they are desperately short of a leader with Charisma because right now they just put the electorate to slee- zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Your average voter really has no idea of the policies pu forward by the different parties but goes along to vote on what he's seen on the news or heard in the pub or red in the tabloids.
But the Lib Dems do have a bit of a history of hanging policies out for an airing only to come back and find them pinched by the other parties - that is I suppose power of a sort!
THey could be power brokers in a hung parliament but there's a lot of luck in that and they have to win more seats to shorten those odds. Clegg singularly failed to capitalise out of the expenses scandel and whilst that was not exactly an open goal it was a good opportunity.
Like it or not they are desperately short of a leader with Charisma because right now they just put the electorate to slee- zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Its a rallying call for the troops. I don't think it is realistic to expect the LDs to gain a sufficiency of seats to form the next part of government, so in that regard Nick Cleggs aspiration to be PM is just that - an aspiration.
Kingmakers possibly - I could see an admittedly unlikely scenario where there is no clear majority, a hung parliament, and the LDs forming a coalition.
All of the above is conditional upon the voting system remaining as a "First past the Post" system. Should that change to some form of proportional representation, then thats a whole new ball game.
Although it seems to be the fate of the Liberals as was, and the Liberal Democrats as they now are, to be reasonably trusted at a local level, but deemed incapable with power at a national level, they and independent analysts claim that this view is a distortion created by the existing FptP system of voting.
In the absence of any change to our existing voting arrangements for the general election, then I believe voters will continue to polarise around either Labour or the Conservatives for the General Election.
Kingmakers possibly - I could see an admittedly unlikely scenario where there is no clear majority, a hung parliament, and the LDs forming a coalition.
All of the above is conditional upon the voting system remaining as a "First past the Post" system. Should that change to some form of proportional representation, then thats a whole new ball game.
Although it seems to be the fate of the Liberals as was, and the Liberal Democrats as they now are, to be reasonably trusted at a local level, but deemed incapable with power at a national level, they and independent analysts claim that this view is a distortion created by the existing FptP system of voting.
In the absence of any change to our existing voting arrangements for the general election, then I believe voters will continue to polarise around either Labour or the Conservatives for the General Election.
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"Is this the equivalent of Prepare for power that David Steele said back in the early eighties?"
No not really, because I think David Steele was actually being serious, whereas Clegg is just saying all the stuiff he's expected to say. It's all in code though - here's the translation.
I want to be Prime Minister - I've got no chance of being Prime Minister.
The election is wide open - The Tories are going to win.
We want disaffected Labour voters to vote for us - We want disaffected Labour voters to vote for us
We shun deals with other parties - We want a deal with Labour after the Tories get in.
No not really, because I think David Steele was actually being serious, whereas Clegg is just saying all the stuiff he's expected to say. It's all in code though - here's the translation.
I want to be Prime Minister - I've got no chance of being Prime Minister.
The election is wide open - The Tories are going to win.
We want disaffected Labour voters to vote for us - We want disaffected Labour voters to vote for us
We shun deals with other parties - We want a deal with Labour after the Tories get in.
1 to 11 of 11
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