Bob Piper has been a Labour Councillor for the Abbey
Ward in Sandwell, West Midlands, for 10 years. He is a lifelong supporter of Aston Villa Football Club and a follower of Yorkshire County Cricket Club.
The views expressed here are mine in a personal capacity, not those of the Labour Party, Sandwell MBC, Aston Villa or Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Get it! Mine... just mine!
An interesting quote from Lib Dem supporter Mike Smithson who runs the Political Betting blogsite.
As a Lib Dem myself I've long felt that the long-term objective must be to reclaim from Labour the position as the main party of the left. It might be getting one step nearer.
Might it? Well, let's cast our eyes back a couple of pages to what was posted on Political Bettinghere:
Now, 27% is pretty grim for Labour, and I don't want to appear to be like the proverbial two bald men fighting over a comb, but... just how many strides closer do you think the Lib Dems are to becoming 'the main Party of the Left'? That is always supposing you think a Clegg run Lib Dem Party (or a Gordon Brown run Labour Party for that matter) is the slightest bit 'left'.
Well, at the 2005 General Election Labour had 35% of the vote, and the Lib Dems had 22%... so any inroads are very marginal indeed on those figures. With the Greens heading towards 5% of those surveyed, and Clegg looking to move the Lib Dems to the right, perhaps Mike may want to consider the prospect of the Lib Dems disappearing as a serious political force altogether.
"Mike may want to consider the prospect of the Lib Dems disappearing as a serious political force altogether."
I do hope so. While I have my own liberal(ish) stances where I believe them to benefit working people, in this world, at the end of the day, you're either with capital or Labour. You might come out for something else, but you won't win with it.
The only successful liberal parties are NEOliberal parties.
Bob the Black Country Brummie said:
July 24, 2008 8:52 AM | permalink
Oh so that’s it Batham’s bitter the nectar of the Black Country gods, all your past indiscretions are forgiven now I know why.
July 23, 2008 9:51 PM | permalink
Hi Bob,
are you back on the retsina and grappa again? The last post appears twice and the link to Mark Steel's article doesn't work (too many http//)
Cheers,
BillBoy