'Vote Lib Dem' says The Observer (Surrey County Council Lib Dems )

'Vote Lib Dem' says The Observer

May 31, 2009 12:58 PM

"Support the Lib Dems next Thursday", says The Observer. As well as its Editorial, an article by Andrew Rawnsley praises Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats in the run-up to the elections for the European Parliament and the County Council as the one party that has consistently advocated Constitutional Reform and the one that has come out of the expenses scandal much less sleazed than either Labour or the Tories.

First Andrew Rawnsley: "Only one of the main parties has been a consistent and persistent advocate of a democratised House of Lords, a reformed Commons, fixed-term parliaments and the rest of the menu of truly sweeping constitutional reform. That party is the Liberal Democrats. They have also, incidentally, come out of the expenses scandal much less sleazed than either Labour or the Tories."

"Of course, it is self-serving of the Lib Dems to want voting reform. A more proportional system would almost certainly give Nick Clegg a larger - that is to say, fairer - number of MPs. Precisely because they stand to gain, we can rely on the Lib Dems to remain committed to reform long after the expenses scandal has faded from the headlines. This is not an endorsement of the Lib Dems. It is simply an observation, which perhaps makes the point more powerfully. If you want to maximise the chances of securing serious constitutional reform, then the party to vote for is the Lib Dems."

Then from their editorial: "There is a pressing need in this country for advocacy of the EU as a good in itself, as opposed to something distasteful that occasionally suits our interests. That view does not preclude criticism of European institutions, but it eschews wrecking tactics against them. Nick Clegg is the most instinctively European leader at Westminster. That is currently a lonely position, but the Lib Dems have a decent record of taking minority stands that are later vindicated. On the environment, on civil liberties and on the mounting debt bubble, the Lib Dems were quietly but consistently ahead of the Westminster curve."

"Likewise on transparency. In 2007, they opposed the Conservative move, tacitly encouraged by Labour, to exempt Parliament from the Freedom of Information Act. The Lib Dems alone took a party line for openness. ..... While MPs from all parties are tainted, the parties themselves are not equally guilty. A credible record of support for transparency and for constitutional reform reflects well on Nick Clegg's team."

"This Thursday's vote is being held in a uniquely febrile climate. It should be about Europe; it will be about the expenses scandal. On both counts, it is a moment to reward the principled consistency of the Liberal Democrats."

Surrey County Council Lib Dems

The Official Opposition at County Hall