In Praise of the Daily Telegraph: Finding strengths in Vince Cable

The Daily Telegraph write Leave Business Secretary Vince Cable alone – he’s the moral centre of this Coalition in which they give some praise for Vince Cable which is worth reading:

I believe that any serious and objective consideration of Mr Cable’s record in office shows that he has been a formidable Cabinet minister, an important ally of enterprise, and, above all, one of the most loyal and supportive members of this Government… Mr Cable deserves the bulk of the praise for the recent small surge of inward investment into Britain, though characteristically he has not tried to grab all the credit… Mr Cable is a new type of politician… Mr Cable has managed to stay loyal to the Coalition without surrendering his identity… Mr Cable is now in that very interesting place: he is the moral centre of gravity for the Coalition and of British public life. If Nick Clegg, as widely expected, steps down as Lib Dem leader before the general election, Mr Cable – should he decide to run – is highly likely to replace him. His best years may lie ahead.

In Praise of the Daily Telegraph: Finding strengths in the Lib Dems

The Daily Telegraph write This fine Coalition government won’t see out 2013 – what a shame for Britain in which there is some considerable praise for this Government and the Lib Dems which is well worth reading:

Plenty of mistakes have been made since 2010, but this has nevertheless been the best government for a generation, led by men and women for the most part of decency and goodwill. Important steps have been taken towards addressing the financial deficit, while the reforms to welfare and education are essential to the health of Britain as a nation and will soon be irreversible… It is only thanks to the skill and admirable personal forbearance of Mr Clegg and Mr Cameron that the project has lasted as long as it has.

In Praise of the Daily Telegraph: Finding strengths in the Lib Dems

The Daily Telegraph write The high cost of coalition: Tory policies are evaporating as the tail wags the dog which is not a very positive piece on the Lib Dems but it does offer this, which is worth highlighting:

On the economy, the most important subject of the lot, the Government does much of its ongoing trading in public. The Lib Dems, smaller and wanting coalition to be permanent, are better at this.

In Praise of The Daily Telegraph: Finding strengths in Nick Clegg

The Daily Telegraph write Nick Clegg is clinging to the Coalition, but is his party starting to let go? which may give a particular view of the Lib Dems right now but has an interesting point about Nick Clegg at the end which is worth pointing out:

Nick Clegg, though a better and braver politician than his poll ratings indicate

In Praise of the Daily Telegraph: Finding strengths in the Lib Dems and Nick Clegg

The Daily Telegraph write Why power is shifting to the Lib Dems today in which they highlight some strengths in Nick Clegg which are worth reading:

Nick Clegg has worked out how to use the Government machine – and that’s bad news for the Right

Is Lib Dem influence on the rise within government? Indeed it is. Partly, this is the result of a change in strategy — but it’s also because Nick Clegg is getting better at being Deputy Prime Minister. The Liberals had been out of power for 70 years, and it’s taken a little while for Clegg in particular to get to grips with how government works. During the early months of the Coalition, senior Tories saw Clegg’s office as dysfunctional, lacking the machinery to impose its will on ministers and departments, which suited the Conservatives perfectly. Now, however, Clegg has learnt the tricks of the Whitehall trade. Parts of the Civil Service have come to see him as a useful ally, and are giving him the support and advice that he needs to block Tory ministers’ plans.

Since May’s electoral setbacks, Clegg has enjoyed a few good months. His party has remained largely loyal and united. He was seen to win the high-profile battle over the NHS reforms… Tory MPs complain that Clegg is using his new confidence to pull the Coalition towards the Left

In Praise of the Telegraph: Finding strengths in Nick Clegg

The Daily Telegraph write Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg focuses on wealth as he eases out of bed with the Tories in which they highlight some strengths Clegg has shown in recent days:

Hence the timing of the Deputy Prime Minister’s impassioned (and impressive) defence of the Human Rights Act and the schisms appearing on immigration, abortion, rights for agency workers and even on the economy after Mr Clegg’s hint that pro-growth reforms are being executed too slowly. Buoyed by their success in derailing Andrew Lansley’s health reforms, the Lib Dems will seek other such defining causes… Mr Clegg’s dare-to-be-different approach, which may yet rescue his dented standing, is born out of conviction as well as expediency

While the Daily Express observing the same issue write what can only be described as absolute fantasy in an attempt to attack the Lib Dems but did manage to praise Clegg’s phrase which is rare:

Nick Clegg even came up with a term to describe the people he claims to champion: alarm clock Britain. It’s not a bad phrase, for anyone who works for a living the alarm clock holds us all in its thrall.

 

 

The liberal question that should have been asked of Mr Cameron yesterday – a missed opportunity for the Lib Dems

It has been a difficult week for England and it has generally been considered that the politicians have been caught napping and are now playing catch up. A recalled Parliament got to ask questions of Mr Cameron but it seems to me a rather obvious one was missed which would have showed the Lib Dems were distinctive.

With both Labour and the Tories being anti-immigration as they are both right wing Parties on the issue there is a gap which Clegg has tried to plug when he gave a speech on multiculturalism – The New Statesman gave a good breakdown of the difference between Clegg and Cameron’s approach to multiculturalism.

So with the riots showing a nasty side to life in England there were pockets of exceptional community which some came from diverse communities. In Birmingham the peaceful vigil and community conversations that went on build bridges and showed a faith in the institutions that run this country and the Daily Telegraph changed its tune with Immigrants love this country more than we do which not only shows some good examples of diverse communities coming together to defend and clean up the communities they live in, but also that they are bringing some welcomed values (which Cameron denies they do) to this country.

So with such impressive displays from these communities should we not have asked David Cameron

Given the scale of the crisis has shown a disturbing side to certain sections of society which the Prime Minister has called ‘sick’, should we not be looking at learning lessons from sections of society where there were displays of exceptionally strong communities so that we can learn how to improve the communities that need to. And given that many of these lessons for England have been in diverse communities and immigrant communities who have not only defended and protected the communities that they live in but also this country and its institutions, would the Prime Minister change his view on multiculturalism which has shown itself to be a values part of British life which has much to offer this country?

The Lib Dems distain of Labour will damage the Party’s votes: How to attract Labour voters

It is almost boring to say that the Lib Dems poll rating has plummeted since the General Election but it is an irreducible fact which worries many. But what worries many more is that the reason for this is because the Party is not representing what they thought it did. The way back is to reengage with those who  are potential voters, who the most likely would be those who have voted for the party in the past. So how do we do this?

The mistakes of the Party have been so clear that the Daily Telegraph have pointed them out for people

He has made some grave policy errors, notably on tuition fees, and he has been too slow, from the initial Coalition talks onwards, to build bridges with Labour. Picking a fight on the economy, as he did in his IPPR speech, is not the smartest means of wooing Labour swing voters to the Yes campaign.

While the Telegraph have praised the Lib Dems on occasion and there may be a greater number of centrist voters who vote for the Party, even they know the importance for the Lib Dems of attracting left leaning, soft Labour voters. But it seems anything that comes from Labour is seen with distain by the Lib Dems. Some would argue that this is an attempt at self-justification for going/being in the Coalition and the decisions that are being made. It has created a blind spot for the Party.

This is a mechanism designed to serve our need to feel good about what we have done, what we believe, and who we are. But it is also a mechanism which will turn people away who will start to wonder if the Party represents what they believe and who they are. Even if Ministers agree with what some in the Labour Party say this mechanism will not allow them to agree publicly turning more people away. This mechanism has been shown in many experiments.

In one experiment, separate peace proposals were created by Israeli and Palestinian negotiators but Israeli proposals were labelled as Palestinian and vice versa, and Israeli citizens were asked to judge them. The Israelis liked the Palestinian proposal attributed to Israel more than they like the Israeli proposal attributed to the Palestinians. The research concluded “if your own proposal isn’t going to be attractive to you when it comes from the other side, what chance is there that the other side’s proposal is going to be attractive when it actually comes from the other side?”

Geoffrey Cohen, social psychologist demonstrated this mechanism further by looking at how Democrats will endorse an extremely restrictive welfare proposal, one usually associated with Republicans, if they think it has been proposed by the Democratic Party, and Republicans will support a generous welfare policy if they think it comes from the Republican Party. Label the same proposal as coming from the other side, and you might as well be asking people if they will favour a policy proposed by Osama bin Laden.

The Lib Dems need to sound more centrist if they are to be seen as more centrist by those on the left of centre political spectrum. To do this, they need to start agreeing with what they believe in, even if it comes from Labour, they need to reach out to Labour supporters even if it means agreeing with Labour. Is this what plural politics is about?

Blind spots enhance our pride but also activate our prejudices.

In Praise of the Daily Telegraph: Finding strengths in Danny Alexander

The Daily Telegraph write Is power without popularity the best David Cameron can hope for? in which it comments on Danny Alexander and what those on the right of the political spectrum consider to be his strengths. Not necessarily what those on the left would believe to be strengths but praise for him nonetheless:

Over the past year, Danny Alexander has become the Tories’ favourite Liberal. As Chief Secretary to the Treasury, he ranks low in the Cabinet hierarchy, but few ministers are more important, few posts more demanding… At the outset, when he replaced David Laws, who had City experience, there were widespread worries as to whether he would be up to it. That now seems like ancient history. He has proved himself in combat. Whatever the Coalition’s fate, most Tories would like to keep Danny Alexander and yesterday he received the ultimate accolade. Norman Tebbit called him “remarkably sound”.

In Praise of the Telegraph: Finding strengths in Nick Clegg

The Daily Telegraph wrote this week Is Nick Clegg trying to destroy the conservative press? which offers some praise for Nick Clegg taking a principled stance to the media scandal which is worth highlighting:

Listen to any Nick Clegg speech, including the one he gave this morning, and it is obvious which camp he is in. For he understands that in essence, liberalism isn’t about outcomes but about process; what matters to him is not that people make particular choices, but that they have the freedom to choose. And that freedom, as he made clear again today, includes the freedom to call him a Nazi in a mass circulation newspaper.

To misquote Voltaire: Nick Clegg may not like what the Daily Mail have to say, but he’ll defend to the death their right to say it.