To join the Liberal Democrats?

[Burntcustard]

I have watched the Tory -UKIP- conference with a mounting sense of horror. The casual 'othering' of non-native British, the priority given to cutting immigration no matter what the economic consequences, the naked nationalism, the dismissal of the educated, the increased power in a PM who wants to bypass an elected parliament. This is not the tolerant, welcoming country I thought I lived in.

Corbyn has rendered Labour unelectable. Anyone else on for joining the Liberal Democrats?

[BlancheBlue]

Surely witney must be one of the safest tory seats in the country?

[buzzbobboo]

Yes it is but it was also strongly Remain. It would be amazing for it not to be Tory (we can dream) but hammering that massive majority would send a big message and finally get the press to take note of the Lib Dems. Fingers crossed!

[UrbanSunday]

Like a lot of posters I agree that it's only now becoming clear how many of the conservative excesses NC managed to contain. Can't imagine he'd be up for it again though. Here in Wales Kirsty Williams has a reasonably high profile and would be good at a national level (she is currently acting as Welsh education secretary in a Labour government despite being a LD - no formal coalition) but she doesn't seem interested in going to Westminster. YDNBU

[EastMidsMummy]

Holy fuck, has their been a mass brain wipe?? The Lib Dems gave us five years of austerity government with cuts targeted at those least able to bear it whilst the richest in our society got richer and richer. And all the time, the economy stagnated. Despicable opportunists who will never get me vote again (yes, I got suckered into voting for them before...)

[SukeyTakeItOffAgain]

I think you might want to examine those years again, EastMidsMummy. I don't remember a Libdem PM, Chancellor or Home Secretary. Or does "despicable opportunism" in your world simply mean a willingness to try and compromise and be a good influence?

A mass brain wipe or a lack of any other option? Who do you suggest is a better alternative?

[coldcanary]

YANBU, thinking about this myself. If the constituency boundaries change it's likely that I'll end up back with a Lib Dem MP anyway rather than the bloody useless laughing stock Danczuk that we have now. (Well aware I've possibly outed my home town there!) and frankly they couldn't do any worse.

[munchkinmaster]

I always voted lib dem but went off in a huff to the snp after the coalition debacle. I agree that in hindsight the lib dems must have been moderating the worst of the Tory nonsense. But why are we left to join the dots on this? Where's the spin doctors spelling this out. The lib dems made a hash of the last election.

[coldcanary]

Did anyone see Nick Clegg on Matt Forde's programme the other night? I don't think I've ever seen anyone so relieved to be out of top level politics as he seems to be! He looks 10 years younger than he did by the end of his time as DPM 😄
He'll get a decent career in the media when he gets out of politics just like Michael Portillo has done.

[TJEckleburg]

Media is owned by Tories or labour. Believe me, lib dems are trying to get media coverage. It's also an issue that our evidence based/nuanced politics doesn't make such good headlines as the extremist stuff. Hence why we get far more coverage for things like wanting to legalise cannabis.

[EnthusiasmDisturbed]

I have thought about maybe voting for them in the next GE as I can not vote for Labour while Corbyn is leading the party

But then I remind myself they have habe only been out of power for just over a year

So no even with a promise of another referendum

[user1471545174]

I've always veered between Lib Dem and Tory when each was occupying centre ground. Tim Farron seems more like a Labour leader to me, I wouldn't vote for him.

Vince was a vain creature but apart from him I liked most of the Coalition.

[buzzbobboo]

Coldcanary - my hometown too! I live in deepest, darkest Tory land a few hundred miles away now but my parents are still there. I'm waiting for the Danczuk car crash to end!

[buzzbobboo]

EastMidsMummy - If you refuse to vote Lib Dem for the coalition, who are you voting for? Labour are a disgrace, the way they've fallen to infighting at a time when they should be leading opposition to everything May is proposing. Greens are going nowhere. UKIP are hideous and the Tories are plain nasty. Even if you think LDs should have done more, are any of the others morally better? And who is fighting for the 48%, the young and the proportion of the 52% who didn't actually want hard Brexit? Only Lib Dems and Greens so far also can see. I can't Hold a grudge about what they did or didn't do in coalition. They held back the worst I think, and we're now sadly seeing what that really is...

[EastMidsMummy]

It's a good question. I would never vote Tory. Now I will never vote for a party who could prop up a right wing Tory government, so that rules out the Lib Dems.

I am in the 'lucky' position that my vote is worthless - the Conservatives always get in here. So, I will probably vote Green. No-one else is even thinking about the most significant issue of our era - global warming - anyway.

(I did an online poll before the last election that suggested my views were best represented by.... The SNP! Not helpful.)

[TheNaze73]

Although less of a laughing stock than Labour are at the moment, why would you join the LibDems? I just don't get what they are, what they stand for & what is the actual point of them.

[BlancheBlue]

vote lib dem get tory

[Zeeandra]

Considering the vast number of people who don't vote if voting was compulsory then NO seat would be safe.

We need people to be informed and to vote. Lib dem are absolutely the only credible party right now.

Labour have so much infighting they couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery and however great people think Corbyn is he has NO respect from his party. You can't lead a party when almost everyone under you thinks you are a bumbling ass.

The conservatives have screwed over so many people since they got in power that even ardent Tory voters are freaking out.

Greens don't even know what they stand for. They would be absolutely lost.

UKIP just need to go away. I have no respect for any party that conducts itself in the way they have, especially yesterday.

It's clear now just how much crazy lib dem put the brakes on. I'd love to see them rise up and actually gain power. I'm in.

[Zeeandra]

I would be delighted if my labour mp defected to lib dem. He's absolutely brilliant it's just that his party sucks right now.

[JakeBallardswife]

I agree with the OP. In my area there is a by election coming up and the only real alternative I feel is Lib dem. I'm really a Labour supporter and I really like what Corbyn stands for, however and a really big however, I don't feel he's listening to his party. He's not electable and under him the Labour party will not ever get into government at the next election. Owen Smith was the leader for me. The in-fighting I've found really depressing so I've just had to walk away.
My area had a previous story strong hold but the Lib Dem candidate is liked locally, for local issues and the Lib Dems are a reaction a middle ground for the right wing conservatives and hopefully the Lib Dem candidate will get in here.

[oklumberjack]

I've in the last two elections for the Lib Dems and will likely do do again. I got a lot of stick for voting for them. People saying that Nick Clegg was an utter disgrace etc.
My local LDem candidate last time was the only local offering. He really knew the problems in the area. All the rest were from that London. Ours seems to be a safe Labour seat though in a sea of blue. I wonder if it still will be next time?

I've never thought to actually join though.

[SukeyTakeItOffAgain]

Thanks for clarifying that EastMids. I guess a lot does depend on your constituency, which is why the current voting system is so crazy, and only really suits 2 party politics. But in Britain for some reason people are terrified of consensus politics. Nor do many people in the street even turn out when they have the chance to change things - look at the turnout for the referendum after the 2010 GE. However that was manipulated by the Tories and Labour and the press who only stood to lose if we had any kind of proportional representation.

If you haven't already read the interview with Nick Clegg in the Guardian about a month ago. So much of the good work he/they did was simply hoovered up by Cameron and his chums. He wasn't given the means to shout about the work they were doing in the Coalition - the Tories and their press made sure of that.

It's shameful and deeply scary how much influence Murdoch and friends have in this country.

[eleanorofaquitaine]

I cancelled my Labour Party membership this morning and I am seriously considering the LibDems.

[buzzbobboo]

Exactly Sukey. Cameron claimed equal marriage as one of the things he was proudest of achieving when he quit.

The Lib Dems supported it before the Tories, and it was a Lib Dem minister who did the work on the bill and shepherded the legislation through. But Cameron has claimed it as his.

[rookiemere]

I joined them immediately in the aftermath of Brexit. It affirmed to me that rather than beating them up for the coalition we should now see that they were in fact a good restraining influence on the Tories, who now seem to have confused themselves with UKIP rather than a serious political party.

I kind of regret it now, but I felt I had to do something positive rather than wallowing in negativity. I felt at the time they had an opportunity to push forward their agenda, whilst both the main parties were in disarray, but for whatever reason that hasn't happened, which is disappointing.

They seem very nice ( if a little needy) and send me emails all the time and there's a lot of cheese and wine afternoons going on which I don't attend as I am too busy.

I feel really guilty as I live in Scotland and ultimately if it's a choice between SNP getting a clean sweep or not and pushing through independence at all cost even financial suicide, then I'll vote tactically even if that means voting for the Conservatives , as quite frankly I'm fed up with costly referendums which tear the country and the economy apart.

[BillSykesDog]

I voted Lib Dem last time but I come to it from the opposite angle that I prefer them to Labour and they are the only effective opposition to them where I live.

The council where I live has been Labour with some long periods of LD thrown in amongst them. And blimey you could tell in my town when the LDs were in. Rather than just sitting around talking about ideology like Labour they actually got things done - suddenly the streets were clean and council services were organised instead of chaotic. You could suddenly get through on the phone if you needed to call them and when you got through they'd sort it out quickly and efficiently. Really loved it and respected the way they did things. As soon as Labour got back in it went back to sitting around discussing sixth form level politics, dirty streets, unanswered phone calls and a 'computer says no' approach to customer services.