Comments on: Nick for PM http://www.onehourahead.com/blog/2007/10/26/nick-for-pm/ Welcome Sat, 22 Nov 2008 03:47:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Matthew Huntbach http://www.onehourahead.com/blog/2007/10/26/nick-for-pm/#comment-10 Matthew Huntbach Fri, 26 Oct 2007 21:59:55 +0000 http://www.onehourahead.com/blog/?p=14#comment-10 Sorry, that last message was from me, didn't mean to make it anonymous. Sorry, that last message was from me, didn’t mean to make it anonymous.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.onehourahead.com/blog/2007/10/26/nick-for-pm/#comment-9 Anonymous Fri, 26 Oct 2007 21:58:48 +0000 http://www.onehourahead.com/blog/?p=14#comment-9 Since when was abolition of inheritance tax a Liberal Democrat policy? It's a Tory policy - Liberals were the party which brought in inheritance tax. Tories defend privilege and rich people getting something for nothing, Liberals attack it. Or at least, I thought that's what we did. I'd rather see higher taxes on wealth obtained for nothing, paid for by lower taxes on income gained from work and enterprise. But I appreciate that sentimentality can make this a hard point to sell. I think we actually have to explain and sell our policies, I don't agree with the Clegg line that they are so obviously right that people will support them if only they know them. I actually have a feeling that the swing from LibDem to Tory following the conferences had more to do with the LibDem pro-immigrant line - one of the few things done at our conference which did receive widespread tabloid coverage -than anyone has been prepared to admit. That doesn't mean our line was wrong, of course. Clegg's two big speeches for the leadership campaign have been full of feel-good stuff for Liberal Democrats, but short on actual policy to back them up. But they've also been short on stuff which really sells us to people who aren't already committed, or which really strikes a chord with all the people who are disillusioned with politics. In fact I think the message "we're really good, shame people can't see that" is just smug and likely to get us nowehere. Since when was abolition of inheritance tax a Liberal Democrat policy? It’s a Tory policy - Liberals were the party which brought in inheritance tax. Tories defend privilege and rich people getting something for nothing, Liberals attack it. Or at least, I thought that’s what we did. I’d rather see higher taxes on wealth obtained for nothing, paid for by lower taxes on income gained from work and enterprise. But I appreciate that sentimentality can make this a hard point to sell.

I think we actually have to explain and sell our policies, I don’t agree with the Clegg line that they are so obviously right that people will support them if only they know them. I actually have a feeling that the swing from LibDem to Tory following the conferences had more to do with the LibDem pro-immigrant line - one of the few things done at our conference which did receive widespread tabloid coverage -than anyone has been prepared to admit. That doesn’t mean our line was wrong, of course.

Clegg’s two big speeches for the leadership campaign have been full of feel-good stuff for Liberal Democrats, but short on actual policy to back them up. But they’ve also been short on stuff which really sells us to people who aren’t already committed, or which really strikes a chord with all the people who are disillusioned with politics. In fact I think the message “we’re really good, shame people can’t see that” is just smug and likely to get us nowehere.

]]> By: Matthew Huntbach http://www.onehourahead.com/blog/2007/10/26/nick-for-pm/#comment-8 Matthew Huntbach Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:30:58 +0000 http://www.onehourahead.com/blog/?p=14#comment-8 This is what really worries me about Clegg. All I ever hear about him is things like this - completely superficial. He seems to have been put forward as the most obvious candidate for leader, and has become the front runner all on little more than "he's a really good bloke" rather than on any deeper analysis of his policies and his organisational skills. This is what really worries me about Clegg.

All I ever hear about him is things like this - completely superficial. He seems to have been put forward as the most obvious candidate for leader, and has become the front runner all on little more than “he’s a really good bloke” rather than on any deeper analysis of his policies and his organisational skills.

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