Why can't the liberal/left parties in the UK coalesce

[Just_Vote_Dem]

to beat the Tories? The Tories will never lose elections the way it is now.
Please correct me if I am mistaken.

[Celerity]

1. The Lib Dems propped up Cameron and the Tories for years. Austerity ghouls.

They even ran on a having a Remain or Leave referendum years ago.




The Lib Dems are deeply stained by austerity. Don’t trust them.


https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/23/lib-dems-stained-austerity-trust-tories

The Liberal Democrats are back, or so we’re told, with Jo Swinson’s leadership victory being pitched as the rebirth of the party. The unique conditions of Brexit have given the Lib Dems not only a reason to exist but the opportunity to detoxify their brand after their fatal coalition with the Conservatives, and to cast themselves as a reforming, progressive party in troubled times.

And yet remarkably little has changed since the days when Nick Clegg stood laughing in the Downing Street rose garden next to David Cameron as he signed Britain up to years of sweeping public spending cuts. When asked throughout this summer’s leadership campaign, Swinson (and her opponent, Ed Davey) consistently defended her party’s role in austerity measures.

In an interview with Channel 4 News, Swinson said she had no regrets about the coalition, stating it was the right move “to get our country back on track”. This is despite the fact it has been shown that austerity shrunk the British economy by £100bn, and has even been linked to 130,000 preventable deaths. Swinson acknowledged “there were policies we let through [in coalition] that we shouldn’t have done”, naming the bedroom tax, but remained unrepentant on a whole host of others.

snip

[Just_Vote_Dem]

5. Thanks, interesting article n/t

[Just A Box Of Rain]

18. It is an out-of-date article, as Jo Swinson subsequently (and repeatedly) apologized

for her role in supporting austerity measures under the Lib Dem-Conservative coalition.

The Lib Dems were also the only one of these 3 parties who wholeheartedly opposed Brexit and who remained true to liberal democratic values while Labour went off the rails by supporting an anti-Semitic political extremist as its leader.

The Liberal Democrats see the coalition as a big mistake, and one that cost them dearly.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/04/jo-swinson-lib-dem-apologises-for-backing-coalition-austerity-policies

[Just_Vote_Dem]

19. The anti-Semitic leader, that was Corbyn?

Ridiculous choice for a leader who has beliefs like that

[Just A Box Of Rain]

21. Yes, Jeremy Corbyn.

A toxic politician who guaranteed the the Conservatives would have power.

[Doodley]

2. They can't "coalesce." They don't have enough parliamentary seats to form majority now.

They could form a coalition in the event the next election is not won by any one party. The Tories are in so much trouble and so far behind in the polls, they will probably lose the next election anyway. Britain benefits from having a center party (Lib Dems). It stops either party main going extreme because they know they will lose votes to the center.

[brooklynite]

3. Disagree on the Lib Dems...

They've become a vestigial Party (no more than 15 seats). Nobody worries that they'll lose seats to the LDs; they'll lose seats to either Labour or Conservatives. In the last election, Corbyn was widely seen as radical left, which resulted in the large Tory majority there is now.

[Doodley]

4. So, it worked to have a middle party.

[brooklynite]

7. No it didn't...

Tories went from a coalition with Lib Dems to an absolute majority.

[Doodley]

11. Yes, because Labour couldn't win. There was only 2.5% difference in the

vote, but the Conservatives had a thumping majority. It isn't about how many seats the Lib Dems win. It's about who can come in second place. That is where the margins are won or lost in the UK system.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

6. Wasn't Corbyn the one who made anti-semetic statements? n/t

[brooklynite]

8. Amongst other things...

[Just A Box Of Rain]

20. The Conservatives remain in power due to Labour's disastrous embrace of Corbynism.

That was nearly a death-sentence for Labour.

By repudiating Corbyn, and due to the spectacular incompetence of the Tories, Labour has an opportunity to redeem themselves.

However, there is no mandated election until January of 2025. So we will see what happens.

[Demsrule86]

9. This is why hate multiple parties. The left won't ever combine it seems and this allows the Tories

to win for just about 20 years. And look at the UK...a disaster with no end in sight.

[irisblue]

10. That reads awfully like the US, with Tories v. similarities to the GOP chilling

sigh

[Doodley]

12. Reductionism at its greatest. Explain how the left are supposed to combine.

The UK will and can never have a Putin-loving, P**sy-grabbing leader like Donald Trump. Trump could still be re-elected even after trying to destroy our democracy. How is that better?

[Celerity]

13. The UK doesn't have a true PR system, so your complaints are not valid for most European nations.

I would NEVER trade our Swedish PR system for the US first past the post single member district system. Not a chance.

If we were staightjacketed by the US model, the vast majority of our welfare state would likely be gone or have never existed.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

16. Now I know where to move to if it gets real bad here, heh n/t

[Just A Box Of Rain]

22. Before you get too excited...

The last election in Sweden resulted in an unstable right-wing coalition government that is reliant on the extremist ultra-right-wing populist-nationalist Swedish "Democratic" Party, which is fascist/near-fascist.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

25. Oh I'm just kidding

I'm not going anywhere lol.

I hear Italy also is being besieged by the fascists as well.

[David__77]

14. Labor and Liberal ideologies historically very divergent.

Liberalism is the ideology of “free markets” and individualism. Sometimes there’s a safety net thrown in. Very different from organized labor perspective.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

15. Well, I'm a liberal Democrat

I believe in unions, welfare for the poor, even more expanded programs for seniors, the disabled, civil rights expansions, etc.

[Celerity]

17. In most nations, 'liberal' means centre right, free market, lower taxes, shrink the welfare state,

deregulation, free not fair trade, often hostile to unions, etc etc.

I believe in unions, welfare for the poor, even more expanded programs for seniors, the disabled, civil rights expansions, etc.

that is social democracy (like my party here in Sweden, the Social Democrats)

[Just_Vote_Dem]

23. Interesting

It's hard to get those kind of things here because of the stranglehold the Right has on this country-2 steps forward, 1 step back usually. I wish we could get a huge Democratic win so we could address some of our huge problems. Chomsky certainly had it right when he talked about the propaganda model.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

24. Hardly a fair characterization.

The Lib Dems support Britain's social safety nets and embrace progressive social policies.

They are not a Marxist party. That's true.