Poor, poor Nick Clegg. What can be said about a man who chose to dare? He successfully moved the Lib Dems from the pristine yet pointless ground of an unelectable party but only managed to turn it into a disreputable one. At its most cynical, the political scene in Britain today can be summarised thus. Labour do awful things and feel bad afterwards. Tories do awful things and feel good afterwards. Lib Dems, however, do nothing.
The result being that the government that no one wanted was able to fight the crisis completely on its own terms. The image presented, to the public as well as to the circling international credit ratings agencies, was one of unity; two parties fighting together, and a nation whose classes were all in it together. It was expected that the presence of Lib Dems at the table would force their partners to be more cautious in applying their agenda of slash and burn.
A swathe of unpopular reforms however, ended any hopes that the Lib Dems would be able to rein in some of the Conservatives’ more vicious tendencies. At their best they were a speed bump to their partners, who knew that, never having actually held office, the Lib Dems would not have the means or the experience to be contenders on the stage of power. To all those who voted Lib Dem and are disappointed: you have a right to be. When it came for them to have their moment in the sun they got burnt.
It’s not as if Clegg and co. have been completely idle since they took their poisoned chalice. One thing the Lib Dems have been working hard on is the coalition’s strange Orwellian doublespeak. The argument that a cut in the 50p tax rate for those earning more than £150,000 will hit the rich is a bold statement. It may indeed have done more damage than anything else to the idea of a recovery where everyone, rich and poor, will help pay the way. Ed Miliband may relish the opportunity, presented by the recent cash for access scandal, to brand their partners “the same old Tories”. But for the Lib Dem voters it seems as if they are willing stooges to one of the most blatantly elitist governments in recent memory.
The rupture between party and voter takes on another twist with the proposed NHS reforms. A recent poll by the Royal College of Physicians showed that 7 out of 10 Doctors voted to reject the reforms. They cited fears such as risks to the quality of patient care and the eventual total privatisation of the NHS. Original public outcry against reforms is complemented by the scepticism of the professional class expected to make them work. The Lib Dems failure to stop this bill is another missed opportunity to reconnect with the public, following on from their broken promises over tuition fees.
These are the partners the Lib Dems have chosen for themselves. Their voters expected them to act as a counterweight within government, not to be swallowed up by it. This is why Nick Clegg has breached his mandate from his pivotal minority of voters. Whilst the party elite have chosen to turn blue, their electorate and once party faithful prefer to jump ship into the grey waters of apathy and shame. Nick Clegg has led his party into hell; I doubt he will be leading it out again.
