This piece is written in response to a previous post. Linked here.
What’s the point of the Lib Dems? A tricky question right enough, Max, especially when presented with so many options. Are we the protectors of our nation’s water, holding companies and CEOs to account and calling for tougher regulation? Are we the champions for a brighter future for our carers and care-users? The voice behind greater national security for the UK? Or are we the saviours of SEND? Well, we are, can be, and will continue to be, all of that and more.
In his piece The Liberal Democrats’ quiet crisis of quietness, my esteemed new colleague Max Booth (welcome!) writes that the Liberal Democrats are “If the Liberal Democrats can’t achieve their goals (though their lack of ability to define what those might be is half the problem) with a record number of seats, then they are finished as a party.” The Liberal Democrats’ goals are clearly defined in our Manifesto, and, while as a third party we have precious little control of the parliamentary agenda, I like to think that we are getting on just fine – even if no one is googling us.
In December last year our very own Sarah Olney MP’s Elections (Proportional Representation) Ten Minute Rule Bill passed its first hurdle. Whilst it may not be found a slot in the parliamentary schedule, this is a tremendous victory for all the voices calling for electoral reform in Westminster – of which the Lib Dems have been one of the loudest. Across the lobby, in the same month, Lord Clement-Jones’ Public Authority Algorithmic and Automated Decision-Making Systems Bill passed out the Lords. This bill calls for a comprehensive regulatory framework for the use of AI in public sector delivery, a cause he championed eloquently at a recent event I attended at King’s College London. MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale Tim Farron has called for the designation of “social housing-only developments” to combat rising house prices, and our Leader Ed Davey has proposed emergency legislation to use seized Russian assets to support Ukraine. These are just a few examples of the way in which our MPs and life peers are working hard for a fair deal for the United Kingdom and our overseas interests – and I haven’t even talked about our recent council election victories – in our most recent, in Alperton, we enjoyed nearly more votes than all the other candidates combined.
My colleague wields Google Trends like a political crystal ball, but let’s be real—search metrics such as these don’t really say whether the Liberal Democrats are making good on their election promises despite being out of government and frontbench opposition. I admit, the success of a political party is hard to measure or define, and is a question tackled head on in the evaluation of Liberal Leaders in one of my favourite books: British Liberal Leaders. Nevertheless, party membership and politics aside, I’d prefer to go off recent polling and parliamentary business—examples of which I’ve listed—rather than relying on what pops up when you Google us. Alas, I digress…
My colleague goes on to pen: “Were an alien to land in a Westminster pub and overhear enough conversations they’d believe that Nigel Farage was the Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch was leader of a distant, trailing third party (or perhaps they’d think Robert Jenrick was Tory leader) – and they wouldn’t be able to tell you who Ed Davey was if you paid them.”
Now, while I do believe an alien would have trouble understanding more simpler things on this island than our nation’s affairs, I don’t even think they’d even have a chance to begin before Farage would haemorrhage after hearing the word “alien” and seek to deport it.
I stand by our party’s extraordinary comeback after paying for our mistake over tuition fees during the coalition government, and I stand by them still. Our MPs are hard at work and buzzing with activity in the Commons, and, as I wrote for Lib Dem Voice, I believe our future to be bright.
After all, if visibility were everything, wouldn’t Nigel Farage be the true leader of the opposition he’s always claimed to be?
