Palatinate Elections: Election Blog Day 14

Originally published online in Palatinate Elections here:
http://www.palatinate.org.uk/blogs/palatinate-election-2010-blog-day-fourteen-the-clegg-effect/

While most of us are making Kerry Katona jokes about the volcano in Iceland (come on, we’ve all heard one), the ash cloud has been getting in the way of the election. Many of the Cabinet were recalled to London for emergency COBRA meetings (the government’s civil contingencies committee), but the campaign managed to slither on, with pretty much everyone attempting to fight the post-debate “Clegg effect”.

The Liberal Democrats started in Cardiff with an early press conference where they discussed their environmental plans. Emphasizing green technology and jobs, the party unveiled a one year green economic stimulus plan worth £3bn, which would invest in household efficiency, public transport and work training, but the proposals were strongly criticised by the Green Party as going nowhere near far enough. Despite their environmental theme today, however, the Lib Dems did not seem to support the current reduction in air travel- Clegg’s three children are stuck in Spain on an extended half-term break.


Other issues found their way onto the agenda as well: Clegg promised to be tough on waste in the NHS to protect front-line services; reiterated that neither of the main parties could be trusted on electoral reform; and took time to rebuff all suggestions of tactical voting with the assertion that a vote for the Lib Dems was “exactly what it said on the tin”, rather than a vote to keep one of the two main parties in or out of Downing Street (take that, Lord Adonis). The “wildly misleading” criticism levelled at him by Labour and the Conservatives was a sign that they were “desperate”.


Elsewhere, one of the less pertinent questions in this election made a rare appearance- preferring instead to focus on the economy, Europe has been barely mentioned by most parties. However, Sarah Teather said that the Lib Dems saw the euro as in the national interest, but not in the current economic climate. A Lib Dem government would only join the euro after both a Parliamentary vote and a referendum.


It was probably a good thing that the yellow rosettes were so busy today, since both Labour and the Conservatives were at great pains to point out their weaknesses to the electorate. The Tories, including Michael Gove on GMTV, have continued to claim that a Lib Dem vote could potentially keep Labour in power, while Labour have been at pains to point out similarities and differences between themselves and the Lib Dems.


Gordon Brown said that some of their policies were “unattractive”. Yvette Cooper spoke of agreement on the necessity of spending cuts this year, but disagreement over child tax credits. Her husband, Ed Balls, replied that “Of course” he preferred Lib Dem policies to the Conservatives, but he was working towards a Labour majority and the Lib Dems would never insist on working with one specific party. In any case, coalitions were not the British way of doing politics. Now, New Labour, does this suggest there’s a hung Parliament on your mind…?


Naturally, they made time to downplay Clegg’s poll boost- Brown claiming experience of “a short political honeymoon”, and anticipating a shift from style to substance in the next debate- but spent most of the session criticising Conservative policy. In particular they focussed on Tory plans for public sector spending cuts, raising concerns about a potential drop in teacher numbers and “DIY public services”, leaving people to fend for themselves. Party funding was also mentioned, with Mandelson claiming Labour as the “underdogs” in the election with fewer resources than the Lord Ashcroft-fuelled Conservatives.


Meanwhile, since his cancelled flight prevented him from attending the launch of the Tories’ Scottish manifesto, David Cameron’s fairly quiet day has been dedicated to pushing his idea of the “Big Society”, which will bring change, instead of the “the big bossy State”. Claiming the importance of responsibility and the necessity for a clean break with the past, he began with an event in Kensington where he also mentioned that strong leadership was preferable over a power-sharing government. It looks like Cooper and Balls aren’t the only ones thinking about a hung Parliament.


In Scotland, however, where coalition governments are the norm and the Tories are definitely not, the party’s manifesto launch included a recorded video message from the absent Cameron and an attack on its rivals. Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie’s surprisingly personal statement that Alex Salmond wouldn’t tighten his “substantial belt” to face public sector cuts was coupled with the assertion that (surprise, surprise) a vote for the Lib Dems would mean a Labour government. Does a pattern emerge?


Today has been about two phenomena- one is an apparently uncontrollable force of nature, and the other is a volcano. John Prescott’s tweet (yes, Twitter again) about the post-debate high for the Lib Dems sums up the attitude of many in Westminster: “Enjoy it while it lasts”. The question is whether Clegg and co. can keep this up and convert it into seats on May 6th.