tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22974616.post1980912520089776578..comments2023-10-02T14:33:18.136+01:00Comments on The Very Fluffy Diary of Millennium Dome, Elephant: Day 4173: Can You Forgive Her?Millennium Domehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430269096817934037noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22974616.post-4446109872207216852012-06-12T17:16:19.769+01:002012-06-12T17:16:19.769+01:00Gosh, she has got under your skin, hasn’t she? I a...Gosh, she has got under your skin, hasn’t she? I agree that Polly’s hectoring self-righteousness can often be annoying, and I too find her blind faith in the Labour Party somewhat mystifying. But I have a few words in her defence.<br />Firstly, in the article you link to, she doesn’t state that the Lib Dems should have simultaneously driven a harder coalition bargain AND let the Tories govern as a minority. She has floated both hypotheses in the past, but then so have many commentators (myself included), as they were the only two other options.<br /> <br />To give her her due, even she recognises that a Lib/Lab pact was impossible - “David Cameron schmoozed them before the election, while Gordon Brown just scowled “ and states that the Lib Dems “would have faced similar charges of betrayal had they returned to power a party as unpopular as Labour in 2010, crashing out on 29%”. She may have altogether too rosy a view of the Labour Party, but she’s not completely delusional.<br /><br />It’s hardly surprising that those unsatisfied with the compromises made in coalition have wanted to look at both other options. And the article you link to does say, “Inside or outside coalition, Clegg could have driven a harder bargain” – it doesn’t seem to me that she’s trying to have her cake and eat it.<br /><br />She certainly does seem to be ignoring the ineffectual Miliband’s earlier comments about “driving the Lib Dems to extinction”, and that’s hard to forgive. But Miliband is ever fluid in his views (and principles, you might say), and has since shifted position to “not liking Clegg personally but willing to work with him if the Party wants it”. I’m paraphrasing, obviously. Still, even for a man as transparently hopeless as Miliband, that’s very similar to your own assertion that the Lib Dems “can hold our fluffy noses and WORK with Tories” – if that’s the right attitude for the Lib Dems, then surely it is for Labour too?<br /><br />Half the problem is that everyone is currently judging the Labour Party on what they USED to be under Blair and then Brown, which even they recognise is not the way to be again if they want to be elected. But the other half of the problem is that they STILL haven’t worked out what to do instead. Still, while I’m no Labour supporter, it seems unfair to criticise a party aware of its need to change on the record of its former political stance (which I would in no way defend – you’re spot on about that).<br /><br />And are Labour really the ONLY party opposing Lords reform? I know they’ve stuffed the House with peers who’ll vote in their favour, but last time I looked, most of the Tory Lords were pretty aghast at the idea of reform too. And (correct me if I’m wrong), but the Lib Dem peers aren’t exactly unanimous in their support for it either.<br /><br />But to come back to Polly – yes, she can be sanctimonious and one-sidedly rose tinted in her unswerving devotion to “Labour, right or wrong”. But her antagonism towards the Conservatives often does yield some very interesting (and often valid) criticism of the current government. I’m intrigued by some of your criticism – can you confirm that she “inherited her position”? Certainly her family have a long history with papers like The Guardian, but having read her bio, it looks like she did a lot of other things before winding up there. I’m not saying it isn’t the case, but it looks like a rather circumstantial judgement.<br /><br />I can tell that Polly’s really wound you up with this piece; she often winds me up too. But I try not to dismiss her out of hand on the basis of just some of her views, when so many seem to be on the ball. I guess if you think the piece is “trolling”, then it’s all right to respond in kind by calling her a Tory – for her, that’s got to be the ultimate insult. But for me, I tend to find the best approach is to hold your nose and take SOME of what she says on board.Simon Fernandeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17112602926201224781noreply@blogger.com