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Was the Coalition n effective?

(9 Posts)
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Granddaughter Fri 26-Feb-16 14:58:52

I amazingly find myself agreeing with Nick Clegg this morning in his remarkable honest comments in today's Independent. I have not previously been a fan of him or his party, but now realise how the LD's restrained the excessive RW dogma of the Conservatives in the coalition.

He cited their “petty, spiteful” moves to cripple Labour’s funding by changing the way trade unionists pay the political levy and cutting state funding for opposition parties.

Nick Clegg also said: “If you look at the way the Conservatives seek to hobble and neuter Westminster, the bullying swagger with which they treat the BBC, the general air of hubris, there is a feeling that politics is being reduced to the whims and mood swings of one political party. That is not healthy.

“A combination of US-style game playing by the Conservatives and Labour’s self-indulgence is conspiring to leave millions of British voters completely voiceless.” It has made me rethink very differently about him and his party.

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M0nica Fri 26-Feb-16 17:47:12

Although he played his cards very badly at the start of the coalition (the decision on university fees for example) I think Clegg did a lot better than people reckoned.

I think the introduction of full blooded conservatism since the last election has shown just how much the Liberals did to keep our government acceptable.

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Anniebach Fri 26-Feb-16 17:53:37

Pity he hadn't stayed on as leader of his party, they need him now

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Luckygirl Fri 26-Feb-16 20:26:41

I have always thought that the Lib Dems helped to curb some of the excesses - a pity that went unappreciated. Too late now.

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Granddaughter Fri 26-Feb-16 22:16:08

I am not sure Luckygirl that it is too late, I never thought I would support the LD's but I am now coming round.

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varian Sat 27-Feb-16 11:48:45

I hope that more of the people who once supported the LibDems but voted for other parties in 2015 will now realise how much they did for the country and how much more they could have done given a fair chance.

We are now seeing the damage that is being done by an unrestrained Tory government and an incompetent and divisive SNP government in Scotland. The Labour party is not providing effective opposition in Westminster or Holyrood and is unlikely to be elected under Jeremy Corbyn.

The Liberal Democrats stand for decency, fairness and co-operation. It will be an uphill struggle for the party to even get back to the position it was in before going into the coalition. We have an unfair electoral system and huge disparities in party funding. You have to be an optimist to see a LibDem recovery coming soon, but it will come and it cannot come soon enough for me.

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annodomini Sat 27-Feb-16 12:54:31

I resigned from the Lib Dems in disgust at the coalition. Was I right? Maybe not, but there's no point in chewing over past decisions. I still vote for them, as the alternatives do not appeal to me. I agree, Nick's article in the Independent was an eye-opener, but I wish we had known more about the differences within the coalition at the time of the General Election.

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rosesarered Sat 27-Feb-16 17:31:08

the Lib Dems did what they had to do, and the coalition worked very well.So what did Libdem voters then do? They punished them for working with the Conservatives, it was ridiculous.Their first bit of power for donkeys years now vanished.

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M0nica Mon 29-Feb-16 11:20:33

Hear, hear. Think what the re-action would have been if they had refused to go into a colation. They were caught between a rock and a hard place.

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