This is brilliant, by Roy Lilley a businessman with over 40 years experience who started his first enterprise from scratch, built it to a multi-million pound turnover and sold it to management and partners in 1989.
He was the chippy chappie who stood on the end. Prickly and annoyed at the status-quo. “If I was in government, I wouldn’t be like them”. Cocky.
That was Chippy Cleggy’s message during the live television debates at the last election. A weary electorate bought his message and now he is in government. And guess what; he’s turned out just ‘like them’.
Late last night, when the early editions came up, the Guardian had the story that Liberal-Democrat members would not be allowed to consider, or vote, on any specific motion relating to the Health and Social Care Bill at their conference next week. Twitter exploded!
Prominent Liberals including Dr Evan Harris and Dame Shirley Williams had been developing motions for their conference to discuss and vote-on. Membership was keen to take part.
Why the veto? It’s simple. The Lib-Dems’ rules are unlike the rest of the political parties. Votes and decisions at their conference are binding on their MPs and Lords. If the overwhelming opposition to the Bill and the fact it is not in the Coalition Agreement, were debated at their conference and motions carried, almost certainly the Lib-Dem MPs and Lords would be left in a position where they would have to vote against the Bill.
This is something that Chippy Cleggy can’t handle. Not so cocky now. Does he have the guts for round two with Cameron over the Bill? He used up his political capital by negotiating the Pause & Listening Flimflam.
How much courage would it take for him to say to Cameron; this Bill replaces 160 bureaucratic layers with over 500. How brave would he have to be to say: GPs can advise on commissioning but they can’t do it; and the proof is, they are already busy reinventing PCTs to do it for them. How much nerve would it take to confront Cameron with the fact there is no democratic mandate for inveigling privatisation into the NHS at the discretion of a man already on record as saying he wants to ‘dismember’ health services.
Does he have the grit to tell the simple truth that this is a daft diversion at a time when the NHS is scrabbling to save £20bn. He doesn’t have the stomach for any of it, does he?
It would take a real democrat to let party members have a say. It would take a real Liberal to let the rank and file vote for the policies they want. It would take a real leader to say ‘debate what you like, I’m here to serve the Party’.
Chippy Cleggy is out of his depth, out classed and out gunned. Is it is time he was out of a job? What is a Chippy Cleggy for? Human shield? A door-mat? A wet-wipe? What’s the difference between a Chippy Cleggy and supermarket trolley? Both get pushed around but a trolley has a mind of its own, and I bet you can get more tea and biscuits into a Cleggy.
I can see no reason why anyone would want to be a Liberal Democrat. They are finished. I can see even fewer reasons to go to their Party Conference. Why bother? You’ve paid your subscriptions, worked your backside off to get Chippy and his mates elected, you’ve outlived your usefulness. You are expendable. Chippy is not going to get another whiff of Downing Street in his lifetime. He’s hanging on and you’re not going to spoil his party.
Perhaps there is one motivator to travel to Birmingham; go and create hell with an emergency motion. Do a deal; an emergency motion to debate and vote on the NHS or debate and vote on the future of a Chippy Cleggy.
If you can think of a reason to still be a Lib-Dem; email the MPs and tell them. If you can’t, email anyway. You’ll think of something to say.
danny.alexander.mp@parliament.uk ; bakern@parliament.uk ; alan.beith.mp@parliament.uk ; gordon.birtwistle.mp@parliament.uk ; braket@parliament.uk ; brookea@parliament.uk ; brownej@parliament.uk ; hernandeza@parliament.uk ; burstowp@parliament.uk ; lorely.burt.mp@parliament.uk ; cablev@parliament.uk ; menzies.campbell.mp@parliament.uk ; carmichaela@parliament.uk ; nick.clegg.mp@parliament.uk ; mike.crockart.mp@parliament.uk ; daveye@parliament.uk ; farront@parliament.uk ; featherstonel@parliament.uk ; fosterd@parliament.uk ; hardyb@parliament.uk ; stephen.gilbert.mp@parliament.uk ; duncan.hames.mp@parliament.uk ; hancockm@parliament.uk ; allenmt@parliament.uk ; david.heath.mp@parliament.uk ; hemmingj@parliament.uk ; martin.horwood.mp@parliament.uk ; simon@simonhughes.org.uk ; chris.huhne.mp@parliament.uk ; hunterm@parliament.uk ; julian.huppert.mp@parliament.uk ; kennedyc@parliament.uk ; lambn@parliament.uk ; lawsd@parliament.uk ; john.leech.mp@parliament.uk; stephen.lloyd.mp@parliament.uk ; michaelmooremp@parliament.uk ; greg.mulholland.mp@parliament.uk ; tessa.munt.mp@parliament.uk ; pughj@parliament.uk ; reida@parliament.uk ; susan.hislop@parliament.uk ; sandersa@parliament.uk ; robert.smith.mp@parliament.uk ; stunella@parliament.uk ; ian.swales.mp@parliament.uk ; jo.swinson.mp@parliament.uk ; teathers@parliament.uk ; john.thurso.mp@parliament.uk ; david.ward.mp@parliament.uk ; webbs@parliament.uk ; williamsmf@parliament.uk ; williamsr@parliament.uk ; stephenwilliamsmp@parliament.uk ; willottj@parliament.uk ; simon.wright.mp@parliament.uk
“I can see even fewer reasons to go to [...] Party Conference. Why bother? You’ve paid your subscriptions, worked your backside off to get [...] and his mates elected, you’ve outlived your usefulness. You are expendable”
Don’t like saying this, but that sounds very similar to a party not a millon miles away from us Bob.
John
Absolutely, John. All of the party conferences have become like US conventions. Rallies for the TV companies to squeeze a soundbite our of in to the evening news bulletins. Total and utter waste of time for anyone looking for a debate around policies. For Labour that has all been shunted off into policy forums which no-one relates to or cares about.