David Cameron wants to destroy the public sector while Polly Toynbee thinks we should embrace tactical voting to keep the Tories out.
Here we stand on the shifting sands of a fundamental and lasting change. Believe me, I would rather write here about the political choice of my dreams, a high-flown vision of a golden dawn. Voters plainly yearn for something better. But I’m sorry, unless some second earthquake lifts the Lib Dems over that impossible threshold, all progressives are stuck with the same old choice. It’s low tactics, not high romance. Vote what best keeps the Tory out where you are. Buck that arithmetic at your peril.
There is so much wrong with Toynbee’s piece. Firstly, she has fetishised tactical voting when really the aim should be about political principle. She may be arguing pragmatism but tactical voting doesn’t give an alternative to the Tories.
The sum result is electing one political elite over another, a hung parliament consisting of a Clegg/Cameron alliance which would be a disaster for working class people as all 3 main parties went to slash and burn the public sectors. That’s not a real alternative.
And Toynbee needs to get real herself because the Lib Dems may appear all touchy-feely progressive but they are cynical and opportunistic chancers like the rest of them. They have to find billions to finance their pledges…and the public sector cuts will do in creating those finances. We all suffer. Maybe I should reiterate that for Polly Toynbee. We. All. Suffer. But obviously not the political class that Toynbee is wedded to unfortunately it will be working class people who suffer the consequences of a fool hardy tactical voting approach.
Tactical voting also stymies building an alternative movement instead it puts pressure on people to vote for the lesser of two evils, frankly Clegg and Cameron are even on that as there’s nothing lesser of the two. Vote tactical and get a hung parliament that consists of a Clegg/Cameron alliance. And again if you want evidence of how these alliances operate then check out local councils that have that scenario and read about the massive cuts….that’s the reality!
NL created this dilemma as they just couldn’t resist worshipping at the altar of neoliberalism and corporate capitalism, adherence to the banks and an economy based on debt. And which spiralled out of the control. Well, you know the rest. NL couldn’t stop themselves playing ‘follow thy leader’ by entering unjust and illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (there is a perfect solution for the 3 befuddled leaders…. withdraw and pay compensation to those countries destroyed by imperialist adventures and occupation).
And the biggest mistake NL made in the past few years was allowing Brown to become leader, the coronation that happened because of the spineless PLP backing him without a proper democratic debate nor election ending up being saddled with a leader who believed he had a divine right, a kinda hereditary succession based on a discussion in a posh restaurant many years ago.
A proper leadership contest in 2006-2007 would have allowed Labour to refresh its ideas and to bring in new thinking around a whole series of things such as the environment, protecting public services, accountability, not getting into unjust wars, the housing crisis etc. These are the sorts of things that a left of centre political party will need to be putting forward if it wants to beat the right-wing Tories and Lib Dems in a general election.
[...] do with the working class. A vote for Clegg was indeed a vote for Cameron (and some of us had the political foresight to explain the foolhardiness and wrongheadedness of voting for this traitorous bunch… [...]