I'm at a loss - why are the LD's being punished and who is voting Tory?

The usual pattern is Lab govs overspend and mismanage the money, the Tories come and sort it all out and then Labour comes back to spend it all again. That's why people think Labour is more 'compassionate'. What else they do is another matter but re national finances can't see why anyone is surprised. Blaming the bankers is only part of the problem. Significant but nowhere near the whole picture.

wikolite

You make a fair point but have you noticed that those who being "punished" did little to cause the economic crash and those that caused it still have their snouts deep in the trough and are literally laughing all the way to the bank.

As always the Tories look after the rich and powerful to the detriment of others

28 Tory councillors, 18 Lib Dems, one UKIP and one Independent. That's our newly Tory council - taken from the Lib Dems. Labour seen as completely out of touch with this area so they never had a chance anyway - didn't field a candidate here. Our libraries have been safe so far...wonder if they still are?

There is nothing to 'punish' the Tories for - they've done nothing to let down their voters. Also ther are some very naive views on Tories on MN and elsewhere. Governments - not Tory ones or any others - don't want to punish and hurt people 'not like us'. We might not like the way they implement policies but the intention is to improve situations, however wrongheaded the approach to those who disagree with them. There is much more friendship across the house than some people seem to think possible - it's not Compassionate Good Guys vs Evil Bastards. A more grown up idea of politics would make the election results easier to understand.

Think there are 2 different types of Lib dem; the left side of the party who may have previously voted Labor, and the right side, (libertarian) side that may disagree with conservative party policy, but sees the coalition as a stepping stone in making the Lib Dems a more viable party.

Seems to me that the Lib Dem voters who previously voted Labor were horrified to see that their vote was used to allow a Tory government into power.

People voting Tory are those who have always voted Tory, and also people who feel that the Lib Dems are doing the best for the country. Also some 'floating' previously Labor voters who don't think Ed Miliband is electable.

They are being punished because there appears to a lot of people who believe that the Government can spend more than it collects in perpetuity or that if we ignore that the country has an enormous structural budget deficit then it will just go away.

Very easy to understand the dislike of Clegg

You expect the Tories to punish, hurt and scapegoat those who are not "people like us" you dont expect the LD's to help them.

Hear hear, small white cat.

Nick Clegg faced an impossible position just after the election, but for the sake of stable government did the right thing. Yes, the transition from party of protest to party of power has been rough, but it was always going to be.

I'm proud to be a LibDem. Just thought I'd share.

Thing is, even if the economy is in good shape by the next general election, the LibDems will have a problem convincing anyone other than hardcore party faithful that they are of principle and that they have any policies of their own. One of the main arguments used against them is theat they have never been in power. Now they will be able to counter that but ooh look, they didn't actually use any of their own policies.

I'm sure that Clegg is playing a long game, I'm not sure that the party is.

Their complete abandonment of their pre election promises????

Clegg licking Camerons arse????

Who knows????

repeat what Jeff just said.

When Labour left office we were out of recession and the economy was growing

Must have missed that bit

The meltdown in the support for the Lib Dems does not really have anything to do with policies or cuts. This is proved by the fact that nationally the Tory vote held up.

People who voted Tory last year have got exactly what they wanted. They are happy.

BUT people who voted Lib Dem got the opposite of what they wanted, and the oppposite of what they were promised. This is why the Lib Dem vote collapsed.

If the coalition govt does deliver the growth and reform it promises, then support will return to the LDs - it's their only real hope.

The Tory share of the vote is held up because people are voting with their heads, not their hearts, and there is support for getting all the cuts over with and then going forward.

Also in local elections, people vote with their pockets and Tory Council tax is typically lower for a similar level of services.

Because those that vote Tory are happy with the way things are being done. It's all part of the masterplan. Lib Dem voters feel used and abandoned. Nick Clegg has managed to set Lib Dems back by about 30 years, he hasn't managed to deliver on anything worthwhile or meaningful. And all to further his own career.

@nickelbabe: I don't understand why people have gone to Labour in their droves, though - how does that help? wasn't it a year ago that everyone was moaning at how Labour had fucked up the country?

When Labour left office we were out of recession and the economy was growing. After 1 year of Tory-led Govt, growth has stalled and unemployment is rising. That's why.

For the Lib dems I thinks its definately to do with them jumping in with the Tories, and in particular an abandonment of all the pricinciples they stood for, ditching promises and pledges along the way.

What Meryl said.

smashing - my thoughts entirely.

It's not LD's fault that they were royally screwed over.
(they should have seen it coming though)

all they could see at crunch time was their chance to get into power, but they didn't realise that that just wasn't going to happen.

I don't understand why people have gone to Labour in their droves, though - how does that help? wasn't it a year ago that everyone was moaning at how Labour had fucked up the country?