0 Liberalism After Brexit Gets Settled
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0 Liberalism after Brexit gets settled - Bernard Greaves 0 Another capitalism is possible - Paul Hindley 0 Tim Farron’s sins - Liz Barker Issue 398 - November 2019 £ 4 Issue 398 November 2019 SUBSCRIBE! CONTENTS Liberator magazine is published six/seven times per year. Subscribe for only £25 (£30 overseas) per year. Commentary ........................................................3 You can subscribe or renew online using PayPal at our website: www.liberator.org.uk Radical Bulletin .....................................................4..5 LIBERALISM AFTER BREXIT ............................6..7 Or send a cheque (UK banks only), payable to “Liberator Publications”, together with your name However Brexit gets settled, the Liberal Democrats must and full postal address, to: focus on applying their values to democracy, social and economic justice, constitutional reform and internationalism, Liberator Publications Flat 1, 24 Alexandra Grove says Bernard Greaves London N4 2LF ANOTHER CAPITALISM IS POSSIBLE ...........8..9 England Liberal Democrats should seize the moment to argue for THE LIBERATOR universal basic income, workers’ co-ops and social rights, COLLECTIVE says Paul Hindley Jonathan Calder, Richard Clein, Howard Cohen, Gareth Epps, Catherine Furlong, David Grace, ANSWERING TO A HIGHER AUTHORITY ..10..11 Sarah Green, Peter Johnson, Wendy Kyrle-Pope, Tim Farron chose to join a notably hardline Christian group, Tim McNally, George Potter, Stewart Rayment, and then wondered why his views were wildly incompatible Kiron Reid, Harriet Sherlock, Mark Smulian, with being Lib Dem leader. Liz Barker seeks answers in his William Tranby, Claire Wiggins, Nick Winch new book Liberator (ISSN 0307-4315) is printed by Lithosphere ARMY DREAMERS ............................................12..13 Studio 1, 146 Seven Sisters Road, LONDON N7 7PL The west’s counter-insurgency strategy sees the UK and its allies are pouring money into the questionably effective LIBERATOR armed forces of repressive governments, says Rebecca Tinsley 0 was founded in 1970 and is produced by a voluntary editorial collective. UKRAINE’S COMEDIAN IS NO COMIC .......14..15 As America’s impeachment hearings centre on President 0 acts as a forum for debate among radical liberals in Trump’s relations with Ukraine’s comedian president, Kiron all parties and none Reid looks at how the latter got elected 0 welcomes written contributions on relevant topics, up WOULD YOU WANT TO WORK HERE? ........16..17 to 1800 words Ryan Mercer looks at how Liberal Democrat employment practices shape up against what the party preaches We reserve the right to shorten, alter or omit any material. GETTING CREATIVE .......................................18 A new organisation has formed to promote the creative DATA PROTECTION industries in the Liberal Democrats and vice versa. Iain We hold subscribers’ names and McCallum explains addresses to fulfil our contract to provide copies of Liberator, and to contact HEATHROW’S FORGOTTEN PROBLEM ......19 them about their subscription. 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To alter Lord Bonkers’ Diary ...........................................32 or remove your details or discuss any enquiry please contact: [email protected] Picture Credits: Cover design: Christy Lawrance INTERNET Email: [email protected] Cover images: spray can: succo/Pixabay; musical notes: mohamed_hassan/ Website: http://www.liberatormagazine.org.uk Pixabay; reindeer costume: Alejandro Linares Garcia/Wikimedia Commons Boris Johnson and rosette: Christy Lawrance Blog: http://liberator-magazine.blogspot.co.uk All images have been adapted Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/ groups/6806343091 Pages 12-13: Rebecca Tinsley Page 22: Christy Lawrance A WALK IN THE DARK But even if it is a substantial loss, there comes a For the Liberal Democrats to have helped time when parties have to choose sides and it would be facilitate the December general election is a impossible for the Lib Dems to go into this election - as gamble. the party did some previous ones - trying to avoid the Put simply, is the party more powerful with 20 MPs subject of Europe or to equivocate over it. in a hung parliament than it was from 2005-10 with That means the party is targeting what in past 63 in a parliament with a large majority for another elections would have been considered hopeless party? prospects (Kensington, Finchley and Golders Green, The Lib Dems could end up with many more seats for example) and probably not some more traditional but without the ability to do much, or with an advance hopeful places. but back in the 2010 position of being asked to form What will the Lib Dems be talking about apart from a coalition or agree some confidence and supply Brexit - which leads into the question of what they will arrangement. talk about after Brexit is settled one way or the other? Has that been thought through this time? Jo Swinson At the time of writing no manifesto has been has been right to rule out working with Boris Johnson published and Swinson has only been leader for a few or Jeremy Corbyn since neither is trustworthy and months - the entire period dominated by Brexit - and both come with high negatives among parts of the so has had little opportunity to set out her stall. public. Her conference speech was about two-thirds devoted That though is not the same thing as ruling our to Brexit and related matters with the rest raising working with their parties under a different leader. the environment, knife crime and mental health. All In 2010 it quickly became embarrassingly clear that worthwhile topics, but does the party have anything the Conservatives had assumed they might have to imaginative to say to people simply worried about form a coalition and had prepared in detail, while the living standards and declining public services? Lib Dems had not and negotiated it by the seat of Nick Maybe the manifesto will clarify this, but it doesn’t Clegg’s pants, with disastrous consequences. feel as though the party has had much to say on Whatever the party says in public it must be hoped anything except Brexit for a long time, and while that that some small group somewhere is discreetly going stance has served it well in the short term it won’t through scenarios for another hung parliament. always serve it well. At least no-one will be able to accuse the Lib Dems The last thing the Lib Dems need is any candidate to of lacking clarity in this election, with the Stop Brexit be tripped up on television by a member of the public slogan to the fore. asking “what you going to do about X” only to met with This again is something of a gamble but surely a an attempt to turn the question back into a Brexit justified one. The Lib Dems will be the only major issue because the Lib Dem concerned does not know party - at least in England - fishing in the 48% Remain the answer because the party hasn’t really anything to pool, while the Conservatives and Brexit Party are say. obviously on the other side and Labour does not know For the first time since February 1974 canvassers which side it is on. will spend most of their time in darkness and cold Getting even into the mid-30 per cents could tip a trying to interest voters, and this time far from the lot of seats the Lib Dems’ way if Remain voters are lights being out they will be blazing on Christmas prepared to vote tactically. trees, with the upcoming festivity far more likely to Part of the push behind this has been the determined command public interest. effort to convince the public that the party can win Cutting through the dark and cold with voters big and so is not a wasted vote. While the constant reluctant to open the door would be difficult at any references in speeches by parliamentarians and party time but with the current public exasperation with officers at Bournemouth to “our next prime minister Jo politics even more so. Swinson” sounded faintly comical in their obvious ‘on The best of luck to all readers who are standing. message’ nature this helps bridge a credibility gap. That in turn will make the campaign rather different from previous ones. The Remain message may lose votes in parts of the West Country where the party had many seats until 2015. The loss of votes may though not be all that large given the good local election results there in May, and obviously even Leave areas have Remain supporters within them. 0 3 INDECENT HASTE Many panellists’ preferred candidate was party Why the rush to get a new Liberal Democrat chief activist Tilly McAuliffe, a publishing industry executive? With a general election in the offing executive. Indeed some of those who had been on the and with a new party president due to be elected, panels had the impression McAulffe’s appointment word was still sent to Nick Harvey that he had to would be announced in the last week of September. leave. That instead passed in silence. While McAuliffe had substantial support this wasn’t overwhelming, which No reason was given beyond that under the Jo effectively meant that with different panels having Swinson regime his face did not fit. reached different conclusions the powers that be were Harvey, former MP for North Devon, offered to stay free to appoint whichever applicant they pleased. until the end of the year to cover a possible election The reasons for McAuliffe not being chosen remain and any notice period a new arrival might have.