The LibDems are Paying the Price for their Dishonest Campaign
The Liberal Democrats have long attempted to claim the centre ground in British politics, stealing voters from both the Conservatives and Labour. This election, they thought they would do exactly the same, but their policy choices and ridiculous campaign slogans are driving away voters, argues Joshua Mackenzie-Lawrie of Get Britain Out.
The Liberal Democrats began this election running a close 3rd behind the Labour Party, but have since slipped down the pecking order going from the low 20%s to around 15% in most polls.
This slump all began with the pledge to cancel Brexit in its entirety and revoke Article 50 – without holding a new EU Referendum – and with their slogan, 'Bollocks to Brexit'. This is something even some of the most ardent Remainers like Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former spin doctor, never proposed. Now with the alternative of Labour offering a 2nd EU Referendum, the LibDems have immediately lost their sway with some moderate Remainers. They seem to have suffered even more in recent weeks, because there has been a vacuum of policy – even in their Manifesto – leaving only their controversial Brexit position on the table.
Even the Conservative Party has not taken such a narrow approach regarding Brexit in this General Election, with big policies on the police and the NHS on the table among others. Instead, the LibDems seem to be trying to tie together their loose coalition of current MPs, many of whom have not been directly elected as LibDems, but have defected from the Conservatives and Labour, and have been directly opposed to each other on various issues in the past.
It is also apparent the Liberal Democrat's Leader, Jo Swinson, will NOT be our next Prime Minister – as splashed on leaflets posted in letterboxes in target constituencies around the country! Despite the impossibility of these statements.
The question, some dread knowing is: "Who would Jo Swinson support in the event of a 'Hung Parliament?". It is no wonder she was left out of Tuesday evening's Prime Ministerial debate. She won't answer basic questions such as this, and won't ever hold the position the debate was focused on.
Instead of answering important questions, we have witnessed the LibDems being selective with the truth to voters in constituencies around the country. The most consistent mistakes made are the now infamously inaccurate bar charts which regularly appear on their campaign literature. Bar charts using manipulated data to increase the appearance of Lib Dem popularity in recent polls, or using unrelated election results to show current public opinion. For example, claiming the Lib Dems are the only challengers to the Conservatives in seats such as North East Somerset – where well-respected Eurosceptic Jacob Rees-Mogg has been the MP since 2010. This is despite the LibDems coming a distant 3rd there in 2017, 14,000 votes behind Labour and 24,000 votes behind the Conservatives, so, this ridiculous! The public want honesty, not far-fetched theories with manipulated statistics.
Along with far flung claims of a supposedly projected LibDem majority after the General Election, the LibDems internal knowledge of the fact they won't win has given them the liberty to push the limits of their claims. The most ridiculous of which so far is the so-called £50 billion 'Remain bonus' – money which the LibDems have invented out of thin air. This will supposedly come from increased growth in the economy, 'guaranteed' to come from the UK staying in the EU. This is complete hogwash. No doubt they went to the same economists who said the UK would 'crash into the sea' directly after a vote to Leave back in 2016! Economists can barely predict what will happen in the next few months, let alone an extra £50 billion over the next few years.
The entire foundation of their policy is the idea of everything returning to the 'status quo' by simply cancelling Brexit. But there is no going back now! Brexiteers will not slope off quietly into the night. Our relationship with the EU – should Brexit, heaven forbid, be cancelled – is bound to change, and we would be dragged ever further into the collapsing economic bloc while they are attempting to create a Federalist Super-State. This is not a scenario which would generate growth, but instead would stifle it. The public will not buy into these stories anymore, and the LibDems obsession with keeping us shackled to the EU at all costs, will cost them votes in their key target seats.
The LibDems are finding out time and again in this election campaign, there is more to the country than the 'Westminster Remain Bubble'. Their current immature campaign tactics and bold ridiculous claims are turning voters off. You cannot claim to be the party of the middle ground, only to put forward one of the most radical policies in recent political history. People are tired of the Liberal Democrats' sense of over-importance and claims of Prime Ministerial possibilities. The Great British Public want to Get Britain Out of the EU as soon as possible, and will vote in a way to make sure this happens.
