Left? Right?

It looks like Charlie Kennedy has some good sense. Seems as if the Lib Dems are about to undergo a "root and branch" policy rethink. The Guardian has details:

The Liberal Democrat leader, Charles Kennedy, today promised a comprehensive policy review to enable the party to challenge for power at the next election.

Mr Kennedy announced plans to look again at every single policy and the way they are decided.

He said such a move was vital to ensure the Lib Dems did not waste their "golden opportunity" to seize the initiative in the new parliament.

"I have initiated a major policy review for the party," he said. "We need now to re-examine our overall policy stance and then develop specific strands of policy in line with it. No area of policy will be more crucial over the course of this parliament than taxation and that is why we have already announced a major review of our tax policy."

Maybe Charlie Kennedy is a more supple and astute leader than many assume. Clearly, the Lib Dems decision to move to the economic left of Labour in this election was not a particularly effective strategy. Indeed, by doing so, the Lib Dems neutralized their ability to make gains from the Conservatives. They would have still likely won the Labour votes they did by virtue of their position on the war and tuition fees: I don't think there tax policies helped them much. Looking at the longer term - when Blair goes - it is clear the bulk of the Liberal Democrats' MPs, activists, and voters are to the right in terms of economic policy than are Labour's MPs, activists, and voters, a reality Blair's leadership helps to obscure. Ultimately, I think the mid-term strategy best suited for a Lib Dems attack on Labour as well as on the Tories are economic policies to Labour's right, social policies to Labour's left. It seems Kennedy might appreciate that his 50% tax on top income earners doesn't achieve this goal. Smart thinking.

Comments

[gracchus]

economically, what space IS there to the right of Blairites in Labour and to the left of the Tories? This sounds like an exceedling narrow gap to me....

[Ben P]

I think it is emphasis. I'm thinking in particular of Europhile Tories - a not insignificant group.

Ben P

[gracchus]

the heirs of the "big englanders"?

[SKapusniak]

Hmmm, looks like this member of the LibDems might well end up having to vote for someone else next time.

It certainly does look like 'everybody' is busy deciding that a Socially Libertarian, Economically Left party (i.e. one I would want to vote for) is an impossibility.

I'm obviously supposed to have either Social Authoritarianism or Wide Eyed Free Market Enthusiasm (or even better both!) as my political diet. Make a man of me, put hairs on my privatised chest, cut my betters taxes etc. etc.