Taking pleasure in being disliked

When I first became interested in politics (some time around 1997, ironically), the two main parties rarely acknowledged that the Lib Dems existed. A turning point was reached in 2005 when the Labour Party, for the first time, launched a very direct and very expensive attack on us (the famous "if 87 people vote Lib Dem the world ends" job).

They did this for a simple reason. Even though the mathematics was bollocks, the concern was real and well founded. They knew that the 3rd party votes could cost them seats, so they did what we've all done in elections, and squeezed them.

Frustrating? Yes. A complement? Certainly. The fact that such an attack was required (it made up a huge part of Labour's final week) was a clear validation of three party politics.

The reason I raise this now is the Tory response to our conference (just one example). Tory bloggers want a Tory government, which is fair enough. We neither expect nor get impartiality from them, and you won't find much here.

So, why do the Tories on the web seem to spend more time having a go at us than Labour? Its because they know what we know. Liberal Democratic votes, both those of the people during the election and those of our MPs afterwards, will be crucial in the future political balance of this country, and there is a fair chance they'll decide who's head next rests on 10 Downing Street's plumpest pillow.

So, my friends, we should not be frustrated by some of the frankly amazing interpretations of Ming's speech, for anyone who considered it a platform for a Labour coalition is a fool, and a nervous fool at that.

Comments

[Tom Papworth]

A good post.

However, I also think that the obsessive battling between Conservatives and Lib Dems has another cause, and explains why so many Lib Dems are prepared to consider going into coalition with socialist, collectivist, statists but not with dirigiste Little Englanders. For Liberals the Tories are the "Auld enemy", while former Social Democrats are used to bashing the Tories from the old days and have a certain sympathy for their erstwhile friends.

This also goes for the Conservatives. While Labour is the big enemy, the Tories find the Lib Dems more annoying. They feel the Libs should have been killed off years ago, and some of them share our views on (at least economic) liberty - though they are fair-weather friends too often swamped by their reactionary bretheren.

In the end its just tribalism. As you say, "We neither expect nor get impartiality from them". Let's not let it bother us.