So Ming Campbell wants to talk coalition with Labour and Tories (Telegraph p6 today). Well, I suppose that's an advance on just wanting to talk coalition with Gordon. This is an interesting development. He seems to have learned something from the total Horlicks that Mike German (with a little help from his colleagues) made in Wales last May. I wonder what AM, Peter Black makes of this. Perhaps he will play a similar role after the General Election as he played after the Assembly Election.
Personally, I think we should take this Ming talk seriously. I've heard a lot of sense being spoken by some of the Lib Dems on the sane wing of the Party - like Vince Cable, Ed Davey and Nick Clegg. And I hear a lot of sense being spoken by traditional Lib Dem supporters in Montgomeryshire as well. I often think many Lib Dems in Montg. have a lot more in common with me than their current representative.
There is a serious tactical point here. I noted the accompanying press comment when my party selected a candidate to contest a Lib Dem held seat elsewhere. Something along the lines of "already attacking the Lib Dems". Now this doesn't seem too smart to me. What I want is for those Montgomeryshire Lib Dem who have never voted Conservative in the past to consider voting for me - and they are not going to do that if I launch gratuitous attacks on them. Now you will understand the thinking behind the conciliatory tone of this post.
4 comments:
No worries Glyn, most Lib Dems I know in Montgomeryshire will be voting you in any case......
Glyn:
Did you read the excellent piece by Iain Macwhirter in yesterday's Guardian?
Essentially, the Lib-Dems are the new 'stupid party' and heading for oblivion.
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/iain_macwhirter/2007/09/is_this_the_end_for_the_lib_dems.html
Sorry, didn't mean to post twice, but here's a quote from Ian's article:
It's not just in Scotland that the Liberal Democrats have been playing the daft laddie. The Welsh Lib Dems were offered a share in a nationalist-led coalition in Cardiff, but pulled out at the last moment after the party executive was leaned on by the UK leadership. "Alliance with Plaid Cymru?" said Sir Ming's minders. "Never! Unthinkable!
anon - I hope what you say is correct. A lot of my friends are Lib Dems - and ironically are far to the 'right' of me politically!
Christopher - I rarely read the Gaurdian so I missed this delightful piece. But it is true that the Lib Dems made a dreadful mess of things after the Assembly election. And it does look as if they might repeat the trick at Westminster.
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