‘What’s the Point of the Lib Dems in a Post-Liberal Era?’

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As they gather in Bournemouth for their annual conference, it is worth reminding ourselves that life for Liberal Democrats is relentlessly tough. You’re either ignored, despite moving from a total of MPs that barely broke double figures to over 70, or once in a very blue moon you might get to share power but are eviscerated as the junior partner who take the blame for everything that’s unpopular and gain none of the plaudits for what the public actually like.

If anything, it is the incredible tenacity of the Liberal Democrats that shines through.  “Great deeds are won,w”  wrote Samuel Johnson, “not by brute strength but by perseverance”.

In normal times the ebb and flow of Liberal Democrat support with a gentle uptick in its trend vote over the last few decades would be good enough just to stay in the game.  But these are not normal times.  The economy has not functioned effectively since the global crash. Living standards are in decline. The environmental and nature crisis start to engulf us all. Brexit, much to the dismay of Liberal Democrats in particular, looks unlikely to be reversed anytime soon.  Many seem to be giving up on a political system that is liberal and democratic.  200,000 people marched through our capital demanding a different kind of liberty – the liberty to go back and to exclude, to be closed and not open. And coming from the USA is powerful and resourceful ways of pushing for an explicitly ‘post-liberal’ future. 

In all this maelstrom what does it mean to be a liberal, where is the centre and can it hold, indeed should it hold? If we add in the conundrum of a party whose beating heart is essentially socially liberal, how does that centre left stance square with a now centre right facing electorate or former Conservative blue wall seats?

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None of this is easy.  Ed Davey conjured an incredible result out of a first past the post system designed purposely to marginalise his party.  And 70 is way better than 10.  But the standing, the voice and the influence of the Liberal Democrats has not changed dramatically.  Some of this isn’t their fault but that of the system.  Labour have a huge majority, although cracks are starting to appear like the recent revolt on disability benefit payments.  And the media of course play to the Farage gallery and it’s infuriating. 

But given the existential threats facing a country that is still just a liberal democracy, where are the big ideas, the big thinking and the policy positions that speak to a bigger story coming from in the Liberal Democrats?  The tensions between what their MPs and activists believe, and what their voters want are apparent. The party is against putting VAT on school fees and taxing farmers more.  They rail against water companies failing their customers but refuse to back the logical step of putting this essential utility into the hands of the public. This is real raw politics. And it’s tough. 

The game it seems is largely not to offend anyone in the hope that seats won won’t be lost and in the event voters hand the country a balanced parliament then the game is back on.  The polls suggest this is more than a possibility, but with more than three years to go frankly anything could happen and probably will. In the meantime, what can the party do to stake out more robust terrain, while maintaining that difficult balancing act between principle and electoral pragmatism?

First the Liberal Democrats must set out the moral and intellectual case for liberalism as it comes under sustained attack from the post liberals. What does liberty now mean in the 21st century, liberty from whom and for what? And then what kind of political economy and democratic structures and cultures will uphold a new liberal order.  And finally what policies should Liberal Democrats champion to exemplify defence and promotion of this new liberal democracy?

Well, it’s not a left or right issue to know where and how we can raise money to pay for the civilised society we all want. It’s not a left or right issue to know how we might better deal with the bond market vigilantes that seem to hold our country to ransom. It is an issue of liberty to tell a story about exactly how we would refashion democracy from top to toe, to push power down and out, to create citizens more than we create consumers. 

More concretely, why not develop the party position on issues like social care, not just in theory but in practice by linking up with very liberal schemes like the Citizens Network Project in South Yorkshire. And give more heft to the campaign to reform the council tax system through the Fairer Share movement, or the right to affordable child-care. The Government is leaving the door wide open in so many areas and the Lib Dems could be taking advantage.

However, the last big question is how the Liberal Democrats play a part in the politics of coalitions and alliances.  In the polls the country is split 50:50 between right and left.  The step to unite the right is not necessarily easy but is obvious and compelling.  On the centre left side it’s much more complicated with multiple parties and Labour busy turning everyone away from them.  Presumably the Liberal Democrats cannot prop up a Conservative let alone a Reform administration.  In principle it should be able to work with Labour, but how and on what?  And what if the numbers demand corporation with the newly eco-populist Greens and any Jeremy Corbyn initiative that actually manages to get itself off the ground?  

This is tricky terrain to be navigated and negotiated.  With the existential threat of a national populist Government bleeding into the far right, these things cannot be left to chance and cannot be sorted after the event of an election.  Given the party’s instincts for pluralism the Liberal Democrats must help lead the conversation not just about the structures of a new politics but the culture and pre-figure in the here and now how we work together to avoid disaster.

While Labour flounders and Reform attract less support than they repel, the Liberal Democrats are doing OK in the polls and better in by-elections. Being more vociferous on Europe and against Trump will work with their base.  But the party feels too much like it is treading water, waiting for others to fail, giving too little in terms of vision and practical reforms to step effectively into the void.  Liberals are at their best and their most influential when they are radical.  As they gather in Bournemouth it is time to step up and make the difficult choices between principle and pragmatism, before it is too late.