Ming Campbel has the top Liberal spot. What do you think this will mean for the Liberal Party now?

Er, Fuck all?

No real challenge to Lab/Con, a few by-election wins, and a gradual reduction of their numbers in Parliament and local councils. They missed the opportunity to capitalise on the anti-war vote and remain irrelevant.

Yeah agree largely, Cameron is the big difference, maybe the Lib Dem's could still nick some left votes off Labour, but most likely Cameron will directly challenge Labour and some voters will do what was unthinkably for a long time and swap straight from Labour to Tory.

If Labour isn't careful It will sleepwalk into opposition Cameron is dangerous.

Ming as always has the hope of a hung Parliament, and If that happens then I hope its Lib/Lab not Lib/Con.

Brown needs to get in and get on with reenergising Labour it's looking tired and has run out of idea's

the sooner labour go into opposition the better

the sooner brown dies the better

Who do you want to win the general election? The Lib Dems won't it's a straight fight between the Tories and Labour I don't want the Party of Tebbit and Thatcher back. I want the centre left and Gordon Brown who I am sure is in rude health.

I don't want Tebbit back either... Did anyone here him recently on Any Questions? He had Dimbleby almost chocking in disbelief when he called the german who in vokes Godwin's Law, a left-winger!

I think the Lib-Dems have really done themselves a disservice with Menzies, but that's just my opinion.

Bring on electoral reform.

What was once promised (well sort of) should be delivered.

Without it Labour will end up in opposition. And the good work which has been done will be undone - whilst the shit stuff (PFI etc) will continue....

I think the recent introduction of Postal Voting will help Labour hold onto power at the next election.

By rigging the votes as they did in a couple of wards last time?

Yeah right, like that was anything other than a couple of individuals unrepresentative of Labour. The Tories don't cheat in that way either nor the Lib Dems we are a pretty straight country in that way. Cheap shots and it's clutching at straws really.

Diss Who are you going to vote for? what's your solution? don't just piss on everything come up with a solution if the think the current lot is so bad.

Haven't fancied the cut of any lib dem's gib since Paddy Ashdown quit.. ming was IMHO the best off that shortlist by a mile... I couldn't imagine Hughes as leader, sure he's very nice but he comes across just too plummy and poshboy irritating.

Touchy! The problem I'm highlighting there is the fact that postal voting is open to abuse and it will happen. It might not be a plan by New labour to get in, but the system is too liable to corruption.

I'm really worried by Menzies taking over the leadership. I think he'll do a great deal of harm to the liberal party who actually stood a chance of getting somewhere.

What would I do? Who am I going to vote for? We'll have to see closer to the time. It certainly wont be David Cameron and his bunch because I don't believe the full depth of the compassionate conservatism, I'm waiting to see what Brown turns into, and there is just something about Menzies that I can't put my finger on...

I'd like to vote in a party that believes in charging manufactures for the disposal of their goods (cars especially, but plastics, fridges, and all other white and brown goods) as I believe this will result in a massive shift towards recyclable cars and goods instead of undisposable ones. I would also like my utopian party to make photovoltaic cells mandatory on all new builds, regardless of size. This will force the price of the technology down and lead to swift resolutions of some of the technical issues involved. I'd like to see the monarch removed and the trappings of the monarchy dismantled.

I've hardly seen a positive word said about the three main parties on here this year.
The Liberals have been in Brighton this week, and apart from watching Charles Kennedy turn up and speak, (only because there was a bit of tension there), It's been a compete non-event.
Or maybe I haven't been following closely enough.
Does anyone have any good to say about the Liberals and their leader?

Damn fine choice in seaside towns for their conference

If that's a big idea - or if the lib-dems have had one, then it passed me by.
Not that I was really paying attention - but that's how it goes, most people aren't really paying attention.
I got this vague idea that they were just going to slap taxes on things that use fuel. Charge you an extra £50 to go on holiday - that kind of thing.
It's not so bad if you're well off.

There is an element within the LibDems (the Orange Book group) that are keen to take their economic policy off to the Right of the Conservatives. I think that they will lose a lot of seats at the next General Election because Tory voters in the South will swing back to Cameron.
But we should beware of the fiction that they are a "party of the Left".

But we should beware of the fiction that they are a "party of the Left".
[/quote]

What does history show us well, The Liberals introduced pensions in the teeth of tory opposition and Beveridge was a liberal and Labour implemented his report by introducing the welfare state and the introduction of abortion and divorce and the abolition of the death penalty and legalisation of homosexuality were supported by either Labour Governments and Liberal private members bill, It was David Steel with abortion wasn't it?

Didn't the Tories oppose all this?

The Callaghan goverment was kept in office by the Liberals and Labour governs in Scotland with the Liberals now.

Blair and Ashdown were close.

I guess that I just hate the Tories and want them out forever.

Mick - you know you're not allowed to post things I agree with!!

[quote name='Mick H' date='Sep 27 2006, 09:34 AM' post='191997']
But we should beware of the fiction that they are a "party of the Left".
[/quote]

What does history show us well, The Liberals introduced pensions in the teeth of tory opposition and Beveridge was a liberal and Labour implemented his report by introducing the welfare state and the introduction of abortion and divorce and the abolition of the death penalty and legalisation of homosexuality were supported by either Labour Governments and Liberal private members bill, It was David Steel with abortion wasn't it?

Didn't the Tories oppose all this?

The Callaghan goverment was kept in office by the Liberals and Labour governs in Scotland with the Liberals now.

Blair and Ashdown were close.

I guess that I just hate the Tories and want them out forever.
[/quote]

On the other hand, the Liberals during the first half of the last century consistently tried to stop the rise of Labour. Lloyd George worked with the Tories against Labour and much of his own party during his premiership, then spent a good chunk of the Thirties praising Hitler as a "Great Leader".
Most of the legislation you cite was actually implemented by Labour Governments, and quite a lot of it refers to issues that have never divided on strictly Party lines - for example, David Alton was a Liberal MP and sponsored several bills aimed at restricting abortion.
However, look at where the Lib Dems stand now: there are 13 local authorities in England (excluding District Councils) where they are in coalition administrations with the Conservatives and 2 (one of which is all-party) where they work with Labour.
And if you look at the economic policies outlined in the Orange Book, they represent something close to pure Thatcherism.

J Boyd

I really don't disagree with you very much on this thread or any other that you have posted come to that, most of the examples I cite were Liberal private members bills under Labour Governments, i.e. Labour creating the climate in which an individual mp could raise these socially proggressive "liberal" reforms"

I think nationally the Lib Dems are more proggressive than locally where they can blow both ways, but you correctly point out they have two wings of their party so doe's our party Labour.

But I'm sure you can agree all Tories are b**st**ds

I've met a few Tories who, on a personal level, I have actually liked; but I disagree with them on nearly everything that matters and their party's philosophy is fundamentally different from mine.
The same goes for the Lib Dems, and in their case, I'm afraid I distrust them because of their party's essential opportunism.

I agree with JBoyd that you can like Tories on a personal level. Some people have them in their families

Anyway: the Liberal Democrat council in Richmond (London) has decided that 4 by 4 cars should pay double for parking permits - to park outside the owners house.
Same size parking bay, but pay more because of the engine capacity - (because of emissions)
As a non car owner I don't really care, but I can understand why people might.
As the klf might say: what about India and China?
Should I feel happy to pay hundreds of quid extra for all sorts of things like parking and flights , if it helps 'just that little bit?'
(And tax fast food while you're at it - £8.50 for a happy meal )