Yesterday I heard some pretty observant statements upon the current state of the Liberal Democrat party. One statement came from leading pollster Peter Kellner who said that the electorate were somewhat vague as to what the Lib Dems stand for & the other statement came from Sam Coates writing in The Times who stated that the Lib Dems need to say something interesting.

As a Lib Dem I’ve been saying for some time that the Lib Dems need to settle on what exactly it is they stand for because where as I might advocate that the Liberal Democrats is primarily about enabling individuals but then only to have another party  to completely contradict what I’ve advocated. The problem is that the Lib Dems were born out of a merger of two political parties which had different emphasis, this created the a political party with the broadest church of the three major political parties, a consequence is the party really is an incoherent & vague hodgepodge.

One could break the Liberal Democrats into two groups, those who put freedom ahead of equality & those who put equality ahead of freedom, sure these two groups do find some agreement when comes to basic human rights but even there is disagreement between those who believe in freedoms such as free speech & expression should be pretty absolute & those who are prepared to curb them to protect special interests.

Of course most political observers will say that all political parties are broad churches but where as people know pretty much the political ground which Labour & the Conservatives occupy they aren’t sure which ground the Lib Dems stand upon or represent.

Two things I’d say is that I’ve long suggested that social democrats should fuck off back to the Labour Party as Labour is pretty much representative of the social democrat agenda & the reason I believe this is a truism that Milton Friedman once said….

A society that puts equality before freedom will get neither. A society that puts freedom before equality will get a high degree of both.

You never really can have economic equality, which has been proven by how many totalitarian regimes have attempted to have economic equality only to create an elite which is far from economically equalitarian. Now I do believe that all should be equal under the law but as we all know the law is not implemented equally or conducted equally. Sure we should strive to implement the law equally & govern the law equally but we should remember that realistically it will never be done perfectly.

Often when I or anybody else says economic equality is a fallacy people seem to reckon that I’m saying fuck the poor which isn’t the case at all. I certainly believe its best to try & lift a many people out of poverty as possible as its an economic fact that the knock on affect it improves living standards for us all, so long as you don’t punitively punish the wealthy in doing so as they can help in lifting many out of poverty as they are a source of wealth creation.

I do believe in the need for social justice & supposedly so do the Lib Dems however if you attended a Lib Dem conference you’d not know it. You’ll hear lots of debates about environmentalism & international development & in fact you’d think that the Lib Dems care more about what’s happening the other side of the globe then halfway down their own street. Personally when it comes to foreign aid it should be left to private charities such as Oxfam as they more often have workers on the ground who are able to help those most in need where as government gives money to various governments whose officials skim off the top & those in need get very little.

Plus I’m not so sure the poor & disadvantage in Hackney really gives a shit as to what’s happening in Krapistan as they’ve got a ton of grief themselves, which the politicians they expect to help them with ignoring their pleas & so they turn to the likes of the BNP. Nick Clegg has said this last weekend that he wants the Lib Dems to be the progressive alternative to Labour, well maybe Nick needs to start appealing to those Labour have been ignoring & who have given the finger by voting BNP. But Clegg wants to be alternative to Labour & those Labour have cheated then the Lib Dems banging on about how we should be intervening is some far flung conflict will not win votes whilst there is a dire need for intervention nearer home. Clegg needs offer policies offering decent opportunities to those who otherwise have become disillusioned & as consequence have lurched towards extremism.

But I’d say that though you might hear Clegg utter the need for social justice in his speech to conference but my experience with the Lib Dems it is mere tokenism. Sure I have heard at the Lib Dem conference that there is a need for more social housing but this has nothing to do with enabling the chavy underclass but because its in fact the middle classes who are finding it hard to get a foot on the housing ladder. Even before the banking crisis a year ago the middle classes weren’t getting mortgages due to what we now know to of been a bubble in house prices. Now okay its not just the underclass & working classes whom have needs but their needs are the greatest & if not dealt with then the consequence is a greater rise of political extremism. I think recent elections are starting to prove this but the Lib Dems are still in denial this to be the case, in my experience if you ask anybody in the Lib Dem hierarchy about specifically about policies they’d propose to tackle the need for social justice & they’re pretty avoidant.

There is a need for social justice & if implemented correctly it would enable many to be far freer, because at the heart of liberalism & of Liberal Democrat policies should be the advancement of individual freedom. But I do accept that its not purely the libertarian perspective but this doesn’t mean that the Lib Dems shouldn’t embrace some libertarian attitude particularly on social issues such as, ending the prohibition of marijuana or enabling people to adequately defend themselves & their property. This would entice the support of many who are fed up of authoritarian government when it comes to infringing upon their personal liberty. Yep time Lib Dems get back to the ideals of JS Mill but I doubt anybody expected me to say anything else. But to do so would be saying something different which will gain attention & support.

So in conclusion what exactly is it I’m saying?

I’m saying that the Lib Dems need to decided what kind of party they want to be so its easier to communicate what the Lib Dems stand for. Are the Lib Dems going to be a party who put equality ahead of freedom (Labour already kind of do) or are they going to be a party who puts freedom ahead of equality (which no mainstream party is advocating). I’ve heard some members say the Lib Dems should stand for radicalism, but that begs the question radical about what exactly? I’m all for radicalism but not radicalism for radicalism sake. Personally I want the Lib Dems to be the party advocating for individual freedom both for the need of social justice but the need to protect personal liberty. In other words it should be the party which wants to improve the lot of the party but also the party which isn’t going to prevent anybody sparking up a joint.

What can’t be tolerated right now is the incoherent hodgepodge because the Lib Dems will be walloped at the upcoming general election for it & so my ultimate conclusion is the Lib Dems need be coherent & consistent & not a flip-flopping hodgepodge.