Lib Dem conference and Coalition Government: who’s dragging who round the circus?

Years of ignoring the Lib Dems’ conferences are at an end, the Left should be careful to read the signs in Liverpool and the public’s reaction closely.

By the time you read this Nick Clegg will have made his pitch to the Liberal Democrat faithful that their Coalition with the Conservatives is “the right government for right now”. With the polls where they are, this message is going to be a tough sell and whether it convinces either his party’s faithful or the public is something only time will tell.

Poor Nick’s got a difficult balancing act: reaching out to the public without completely trampling over his party. Clegg has to convince his party that that he hasn’t gone native in Mr Cameron’s company.

Many will have thought that Coalition Government would be about Conservatives instigating policies and Liberal Democrats holding back the nastier Tory tendencies but the reality is proving more complex.

Over the weekend senior Liberal Democrat figures were actively trying to paint their party’s role in Government, behind closed doors at least, as being about ensuring the Lib Dem’s distinctive signature on every policy this Government puts through. On the BBC this weekend Simon Hughes was keen to make sure people understood that “ …there are lots of times when Nick will say ‘No, not now, or not this way’…or they’ll [Lib Dem ministers] be saying we need to go further, faster or differently”. I’m not sure whose fears that is supposed to allay. Its cold comfort for party members already uncomfortable on a whole raft of issues, already the word ‘dictatorship’ is being bandied around by the grassroots.

When you add public opinion that they don’t like large strands of Government policy, the question emerges: is it Cameron’s lot to blame or Clegg’s?

So far the Conservatives seem to be happy to acquiesce Clegg’s political muscle flexing but the future post-conference, especially the post-coalition agreement, looks stormier than ever. Already Saint Vince’s comments on the migrant cap have put him at odds with Teresa May, whilst Evan Harris has decided to put some distance between the ‘progressive wing’ of the Lib Dems and Clegg (though that distinction should probably have been made clearer to Lib Dem voters).

The Lib Dems are now tarred with very cut, every policy, and all the rhetoric of this Coalition Government. Why shouldn’t Labour cover them with feathers call them what they seem to be?

This puts a little pressure on Labour as it journeys up to Manchester. Thousands of new Labour members are actually Lib Dem voters angry at being sold a duff political project and by the end of this conference there are likely to be many more of them ready to  follow their lead.

But it is a very different scenario if uneasy Lib Dems MPs and councillors are, after a week in Liverpool, pushed/shoved/encouraged to search for a more comfortable political home.  What will Labour be ready, or able, to offer them?

Is the irresponsible media to blame for EU scepticism?

In this post, Young Fabian Claire French argues for a moderate campaign to tackle the ever-growing Euroskeptic sentiment in the British media.

YouGov recently found (pdf) that more than half of the public would vote to leave the European Union if a referendum was held now. I was made equally uncomfortable by the prominence of skepticism among young people and ‘lower class’ (C2DE) voters.

Without the news media, many citizens would simply be unaware of what is happening in in the political sphere, particularly internationally. My belief has long been that the media, particularly print journalism, owes society the duty of delivering a sound, reliable source of information. Unfortunately we constantly witness the responsibility of the fourth estate being eroded.

Research points towards the mass media as the number one influencer on public opinion relating to the European Union. One briefing from the European Parliament said that media reporting of the EU: “in most cases this has tended to concentrate on political matters rather than developing in depth public knowledge”. Soundbites limit the depth and understanding of issues being discussed in European politics.

In June, the Daily Mail ran the headline: EU to ban selling eggs by the dozen: Shopkeepers’ fury as they are told all food must be weighed and sold by the kilo. They were left with egg on their faces when Renate Sommer MEP told the BBC that “Selling eggs by the dozen… will not be banned”. In fact, a procedure of weighing eggs was being debated in the Parliament – a practice that was in place before the bill was even raised.

Rife Euroskepticism amongst tabloid newspapers – particularly those leaning towards the political right – has created a moral panic in the United Kingdom, particularly in relation to mass migration and the dispersion of state sovereignty.

Headlines of “Eastern Europeans… (stealing our jobs/using our public services/driving up our crime rates etc)” have landed us with mixed messages and a frankly misguided public opinion. Gordon Brown’s unfortunate encounter with Gillian Duffy, the “Bigoted Woman”, is the prime example of fear that is whipped up largely by right-wing political parties and media outlets. It was also a turning point for the Labour Party – realising the extent of damage that has been done to the British ‘mood’ on European membership. The EU is no longer just a single marketplace, it is a collection of culturally diverse states, bound by political structures.

The drip feed coverage of EU policy of political parties including the United Kingdom Independence Party, the British National Party and right-wing fringes of the Conservative Party, as well as organisations such as the Taxpayers’ Alliance and Migration Watch is pushing this anti-European rhetoric.

It is up to the think tanks, the organisations and politicians of moderate parties to promote our membership in the European community. There are all sorts of  desirable factors that we all should celebrate and promote – not just us on the left, but liberals and conservatives alike.

The expansion of the EU is likely to cause controversy amongst these organisations and media, as the lengthy debate of whether Turkey should be the next state to join moved closer this week. In a national referendum held this week, 58:42 per cent voting to change the militarised-constitution. The BBC noted that:

“Voters endorsed modifications to Turkey’s current constitution, making the military more accountable to civilian courts and giving parliament.”

Turkey is different to the countries that have joined before it. Its locality – being so close to the Asian boarder; its culture and religion – though it is a predominantly secular country. There will also be the concern of capping the number of migrants coming into western Europe – which was not done in the UK, Sweden or Ireland when Poland and other central European countries joined in 2004.