Lib Dems have abandoned progressive politics and let me down

Our Guest writer is a disaffected Lib Dem voter, who writes under the pseudonym Akheloios

I am a Liberal Democrat, and have given them my vote since my first General Election in 1997. I hold no special love for New or Old Labour, though like many others I was filled with hope at the 1997 election when Tony Blair promised to usher in a new era of progressive, fair and ethical politics after nearly 20 years of soul-crushingly selfish Conservatism.

New Labour’s fall from grace – the war in Iraq, their deeply authoritarian and intolerant policies of recent years – crushed any hope that they’d be taking the lead in progressive change. I’d been very upset with the Labour changes to the benefits system in 2005 – constant retesting of those who had been tested again and again, driving people back to the dole having done everything the Government asked of them.

The Phil Woolas and ilk war on immigration was a disaster for solidarity. The right wing press war on the working class via their wedge strategy was working. Splitting working class ‘British’ and working class immigrants was knee jerk racist – and Labour fell for it hook line and sinker.

New Labour’s reliance on the city to produce taxation was a continuation of the Thatcherite service economy model which crushed manufacturing. Labour didn’t do nearly enough to create good jobs; in some regions families were trapped in poverty because they were on the third generation of unemployment due to the crippling of mining and manufacturing in the 80s.

The Liberal Democrats looked like the real progressive choice for the left. I voted Liberal Democrat for the change they promised. The rise of the tax allowance to £10,000 was a positive start, especially since they’d planned to pay for it with something that at least appeared progressive – the Mansion Tax.

This budget has made a lie of everything they appeared to stand for in the election. VAT of 20% will hit the poorest hardest. I’m more than a little bit of a fan of the Scandinavian system, where higher taxes for better services appears simple and effective. Where Sweden may have a VAT rate of 25%, at least they acknowledge it’s a regressive tax and make an allowance for it with a reduced rate of 12% on food.

I’m disabled and receive Disability Living Allowance, I have severe arthritis and suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I had to jump through hoops, filling out form after form, and now I’m threatened with a medical test. It came as a complete surprise to me. While we’re going to have to wait to see the criteria, the change can only be there to reduce the numbers on DLA, and so I’m in danger of losing a large part of the benefits that allow me to cope with my disability.

Changing Child Allowance was always going to be tricky, removing it for middle and upper incomes might have meant it being completely abandoned for everyone in time – but a freeze? It attacks the lowest incomes and hardly touches the middle and upper income families at all.

A banking levy introduced and more than paid for by a reduction in Corporation Tax? We paid to save the banks from their own mistakes so that the entire system wouldn’t collapse, and now we’re giving them what turns out to be a tax break?

All the tax increases in this budget will affect the poorest first. It isn’t fair and it certainly isn’t progressive. CGT won’t have any real impact and there hasn’t been any increase on the top rate of income tax whatsoever. Those that can afford to pay a little more aren’t – those that can’t afford to pay are going to have to shoulder the entire burden.

This is a regressive budget – deficit reduction to appease the Tory voters and press, paid for in jobs and taxes, an attack on the on the poor and vulnerable. My father was on the picket lines in the 80′s as a Union rep, my family felt the pain of no income and the real fear of being a household without a primary wage earner. Now another era of mass redundancies has come again.

When the Liberal Democrats joined the coalition I didn’t know whether to feel disgusted because they’d joined the Tories, a party whose policies we’d fought against for so long, or whether I should feel happy because they’d mitigate the damage that the Tory party would do. Now I know that my initial feelings of disgust were correct, any mitigation has been small and completely swamped by the flood of policies attacking the poorest and most vulnerable. The gains we made in the coalition, the scrapping of the more extreme authoritarian Labour policies, were sold in exchange for this disastrous budget.

Progressive Politics is dying, and unless Charlie Kennedy and Diane Abbott can pull a very surprised rabbit from a hat, not a single party shows any inclination in making this country a fair and decent place to live.

http://twitter.com/romarcelinhorne/status/16932359750 Roland M-Horne

http://bit.ly/cfksYe and may there be many more like you!
http://twitter.com/rosarubicondior/status/16932400952 Rosa Rubicondior

RT @leftfootfwd: Lib Dems have abandoned progressive politics and let me down : http://bit.ly/cfksYe
http://twitter.com/houseoftwits/status/16932535570 House Of Twits

RT @leftfootfwd Lib Dems have abandoned progressive politics and let me down : http://bit.ly/cfksYe
http://twitter.com/rosarubicondior/status/16932535845 Rosa Rubicondior

RT @leftfootfwd: Lib Dems have abandoned progressive politics and let me down : http://bit.ly/cfksYe #LibDems #ComeHometoLabour
http://twitter.com/hitchineng/status/16932614780 Hitchin England

Lib Dems have abandoned progressive politics and let me down : http://bit.ly/cfksYe via @leftfootfwd
http://twitter.com/smudgesmith/status/16932701174 Dick Smith

RT @leftfootfwd: Lib Dems have abandoned progressive politics and let me down : http://bit.ly/cfksYe
mike

Clegg says at the next budget it will include clauses on the poor
suggesting he already accepts what independent experts say

this Budget hits the poor the hardest !!!!

How can Simon Hughes say its “progressive”

The nurses at work not only have a pay freeze, jobs freeze, pensions cuts, and Tax credits, child benefit cut and now the patients on Chemotherapy face benefits cuts

Meanwhile rail bosses award themselves record bonuses just like the City Bankers,

If the economy is so bad how come they have paid out record City bonuses this year

Its a disgrace
http://twitter.com/RupertRead Rupert Read

The lie that this budget is ‘progressive’ was taken down by John Humphreys’s demolition of Clegg, yesterday morning on TODAY.

“The Liberal Democrats looked like the real progressive choice for the left.” No, they didn’t.
#JointheGreens
Caroline Lucas, unlike Labour, sold the Green Party as a socialist choice at these elections.
http://twitter.com/timhobbs/status/16938447485 timhobbs

Agreed! RT @HouseofTwits: RT @leftfootfwd Lib Dems have abandoned progressive politics and let me down : http://bit.ly/cfksYe
anin

“Progressive Politics is dying, and unless Charlie Kennedy and Diane Abbott can pull a very surprised rabbit from a hat, not a single party shows any inclination in making this country a fair and decent place to live”

I agree with you
Labours membership gutless , Labour Ministers and MPs consultant privatisers, Murdoch crawlers and very corrupt and the Lib Dems spineless right wing Thatcherites trying to steal Labours clothes and do the dance of death with the Conservatives
redarsedbaboon

Yes, yes, yes, all very good, but this just means you were wrong then as much as the party leadership is wrong now. We tried to tell you this principled progressive party was nothing of the sort, but all you wanted to do was shout ‘OMG Iraq!’
Henry

Well, we were right to get angry about Iraq. Goodness knows how many activists & members it cost the Labour Party – apart from being plain wrong.
http://twitter.com/wdjstraw/status/16942514556 Will Straw

Fascinating account of how a Lib Dem supporter has been let down by the Coalition http://bit.ly/cfksYe
http://twitter.com/julesark/status/16942807597 Julien Allen

RT @wdjstraw: Fascinating account of how a Lib Dem supporter has been let down by the Coalition http://bit.ly/cfksYe
http://twitter.com/paulsandars/status/16943214281 Paul Sandars

RT @wdjstraw: Fascinating account of how a Lib Dem supporter has been let down by the Coalition http://bit.ly/cfksYe
http://twitter.com/tess1959/status/16943595347 Teresa

RT @wdjstraw: Fascinating account of how a Lib Dem supporter has been let down by the Coalition http://bit.ly/cfksYe
Francis Irving

Small fact check – while Sweden may have a reduced 12% VAT rate, we have a 0% VAT rate on (most) food, and also on children’s clothing (see http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/BeginnersGuideToTax/DG_4015895).

Secondly, yes it isn’t a good Lib Dem budget. That’s because the Lib Dems didn’t win the election. It’s a compromise budget.

If you’re looking for a properly left wing party, I suggest the Green Party. They’re very democratic, and have a citizen’s income policy, which is the most imaginative way I’ve seen of getting rid of the damaging complexities of the benefits and tax credits system.
Richard Blogger

“The nurses at work not only have a pay freeze, jobs freeze, pensions cuts, and Tax credits, child benefit cut and now the patients on Chemotherapy face benefits cuts”

Sorry to break this news to you, but it has only just begun for “the nurses at work”. Lansley’s plans are to “invite in the private sector” he said that in his manifesto launch speech at Battersea Power Station. When a private company takes over an NHS service it will not take on the existing staff. The hospital will not be able to employ them because they will no longer provide the service. The nurses will then have to re-apply for their jobs with the new provider. If they get the job they will have to take out a private pension because they will no longer be eligible to contribute any more to their NHS pension. Since the private provider will be more expensive than the NHS provider (they are; they simply are) then the nurses will be offered their new jobs at a lower rate, or with worse conditions. They have a choice whether to take the job, right? They will simply have to put up with it.

The fact is that all of this is ideological. It does not have to be done, it will not save money and since waiting lists will be longer and corners will be cut to try and do the work at the NHS rate then patients will not get a better service. This is all ideological and avoidable. I’m going to be on the frontline fighting these changes, will you?
http://twitter.com/alundaviesam/status/16955619190 Alun Davies

RT @wdjstraw: Fascinating account of how a Lib Dem supporter has been let down by the Coalition http://bit.ly/cfksYe
http://twitter.com/vemmame/status/16988546559 Casey Vanderpool

Lib Dems have abandoned progressive politics and let me down … http://bit.ly/bWaNQk
Dante1981

Additional fact check – the bank levy costs the banks significantly more than the Corporation Tax increase gives them, so they are facing an overall tax increase.
Dante1981

Sorry – that should read “the bank levy costs the banks significantly more than the Corporation Tax CUT gives them” of course!
http://twitter.com/cskurt/status/16996004732 Kurt
Terry Tibbs

I hate this ‘progressive’ term everyone is bounding about.

Making people MORE reliant on the state is not progressive, it acts as the foundations to a dictatorship.

And continually taxing the rich will just push them away – to other Euro countries or outside the EU. There has to be a balance – the well off can’t pay for everything.
SadButMadLad

I like how a VAT rate of 25% is seen as acceptable just because there is a reduction to 12% for food. A lot better here in the UK where just about all food is 0%. Only luxury food or food which has been prepared is standard rated. See http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channelsPortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageLibrary_ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000118&propertyType=document
http://twitter.com/charceeholden/status/17097666097 Charlie Holden

RT @leftfootfwd: Lib Dems have abandoned progressive politics and let me down http://bit.ly/cfksYe ..Cut in corp tax, what-what?! Spot-on.
http://twitter.com/charceeholden/status/17097775750 Charlie Holden

RT @leftfootfwd: Lib Dems have abandoned progressive politics and let me down http://bit.ly/cfksYe – reduction of Corp Tax, what-what?!
Strong Stable Government

Dante1981 says:
June 25, 2010 at 6:57 am
Additional fact check – the bank levy costs the banks significantly more than the Corporation Tax cut gives them, so they are facing an overall tax increase.

Desirable though that would be the truth seems to be rather less noble – http://www.touchstoneblog.org.uk/2010/06/budget-what-bank-levy/

And with regard to VAT would it not be fairer to create some income tax style tiers? Say 15% (ie a small cut) on the value up to £100 and 22.5% on anything above that? In this way you could secure the extra funds – but more would come from the people who can actually afford it! And surely if food is zero rated (as a neccesity) then gas and electric should be too – their increase to 6% is scandalous. On a slightly less personal note my partner is incensed that female sanitary products are classed as a ‘luxury’ and so subject to the full VAT rate!
http://fearandloathinginwestminster.blogspot.com Annalise

To be fair to the Lib Dems, they probably didn’t have a whole lot of say in this Budget, and even their deputy leader is itching to get rid of the VAT rise – the most regressive component of it. Plus they squeezed in the tax-free allowance rise (sincerely doubt that was ever on the Tory agenda). But yes, be prepared to be tarred with the same brush as the Tories if you go into a coalition with them.