Over at Devil’s Kitchen, the blogger uses justifiably salty prose to describe what he thinks of Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, after Mr Clegg gave various proposals for taxing City bankers and the like, including such brilliant ideas as raising the rate of capital gains tax to 50 per cent on top earners, in line with the new, 50 per cent income tax rate due to kick in at the start of April. Clegg gave an interview to the daily freesheet, CityAm.
Clegg, let us not forget, could be in a position to be an important power-broker if the outcome of the next UK general election produces a hung parliament in which no one single party has an overall majority. Given that both the Tories and of course Labour have shown no reluctance to pander shamelessly to anti-banker, anti-capitalist sentiment, it is likely that if any of these parties gets into bed with the LibDems (a truly gruesome thought, Ed), that such “bash-the rich” crapola will get worse. So we can expect the exodus of wealthy people from this country to continue if this sort of zero-sum economics nonsense holds sway.
Under trade descriptions legislation, the LibDems’ own brandname would be declared as false advertising. Liberal they are certainly not.
It is not just anti banker stuff.
The Lib Dems are committed to a general bigger government agenda – indeed (whatever old Liberalism may have believed – a debatable matter) the basic DEFINITION of the “new Liberalism” is, and has been for more than a century, big governmentism. Increasing government spending and regulations in order (supposedly) to help people.
Besides this there is also the HATRED AND ENVY of rich people – this actually started with a hatred of landowners in the 19th century, but the “New Liberalism” made it a general commitment to “social justice” (i.e. hatred of all rich people – regardless of whether their source of wealth was farming, manufacturing or finance).
The “Orange Book” (partly free market) Lib Dem party members are really wasting their time – especially as the party remains committed to the European Union (just over the last couple of days the E.U. has acted to demand more welfare for immigrants, launched an “anti trust” attack on Google, and pushed forward an agenda for yet longer paid “maternity leave”). The whole PURPOSE of the E.U. is to act as an EXTRA LAYER OF GOVERNMENT (that is the definition of if).
In short the Lib Dem idea of the E.U. is CORRECT – it those (such as some in the Conservative party) who think the E.U. is or can be just a free trade area who are deluded (utterly deluded).
“What about the Tory party Paul”.
The leadership of the Conservative party is useless – I have said so repeatedly (so to excuse me of kneeling to them, as some do, is absurd) however the party has no collectivist IDEOLOGY – in fact it has no ideology (no doctrines) of any kind.
Not wonderful (I would love the Conservative party to have a pro freedom ideology) , but better than the collectivist ideologies of the other major parties.
The fact that David Cameron thinks he can do a deal with Nick Clegg and co is just yet more evidence of how bad Mr Cameron is.
They probably, vicserally, use the word “liberal” in the uSA sense, which is to say, “GramscoFabian”. We should forgive them, for – as the Man Said, “The Know Not What They Do”.
There are a few liberals left in that party still. Probably because they see no other place to go…
I don’t think it’s our place to “forgive”.
The Liberal Democrats are a hard-left party which will be dragged even further to the left as they pick up defecting Labour voters at the next election.
As for the “Orange Book” crowd taking over the party and turning it back into a properly liberal one, well, I always said that was weapon-grade faeces and I have been proved right.
David Davis, you have forgotten the context in which that command to forgive was given. First, the sinner has to repent and ask for your forgiveness, then Christians should forgive. Have the ‘liberals’ seen the light and repented of their big-government ways? I think not!