The Student Room Group
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>
Uni students - Complete our survey >>

Ex Lib Dem Voters/Supporters - where are you going and why?

The Lib Dems, according to current polls, have lost the support of around 60% of those who voted for them at the last election. I'm interested to know why. So, people who either voted Lib Dem or would have done so at the last election, but don't plan to at the next, let me know who you now support and why you made the switch.

Scroll to see replies

I voted for the Lib Dems in the last election, I won't be doing so again because they broke pretty much every pre-election pledge they made and propped up the Tories whilst they pushed through policies they had no mandate to introduce. I voted for the Greens in the EU election, because their policies are closest to my own political ideology. I'll be voting Labour in the next general election because they're the only party with a realistic chance of preventing the Tories from getting a second term.
Original post by Ziggy Sawdust
I voted for the Lib Dems in the last election, I won't be doing so again because they broke pretty much every pre-election pledge they made and propped up the Tories whilst they pushed through policies they had no mandate to introduce. I voted for the Greens in the EU election, because their policies are closest to my own political ideology. I'll be voting Labour in the next general election because they're the only party with a realistic chance of preventing the Tories from getting a second term.


When you say they broke every pre-election pledge, what (other than tuition fees) are you going for. They got through 75% of their manifesto (roughly 75% more than they would have if they'd refused to compromise at all)
Reply 3
Avatar for Rakas21
Rakas21
21
Original post by Ziggy Sawdust
I voted for the Lib Dems in the last election, I won't be doing so again because they broke pretty much every pre-election pledge they made and propped up the Tories whilst they pushed through policies they had no mandate to introduce. I voted for the Greens in the EU election, because their policies are closest to my own political ideology. I'll be voting Labour in the next general election because they're the only party with a realistic chance of preventing the Tories from getting a second term.


I love how people vote for a party that supports PR (coalitions) and then complains when they go with the Tories.
Reply 4
Avatar for Dez
Dez
20
Original post by Rakas21
I love how people vote for a party that supports PR (coalitions) and then complains when they go with the Tories.


A coalition is fine. A coalition with the Tories is not, however. Would you still support the Conservatives if during the next election, they teamed up with the BNP? Or Labour if they united with UKIP?

The Lib Dems have a useless leader, they back-tracked on key election promises without any remorse whatsoever, and they have basically lost all trust capital with the people they're supposed to represent.

I won't be voting for them next year, for precisely none of the above reasons. I've moved three times since the last election and in my current constituency, realistically a Lib Dem vote would be a total waste whether I wanted to support them or not.
Reply 5
Avatar for Quady
Quady
20
Original post by Ziggy Sawdust
I voted for the Lib Dems in the last election, I won't be doing so again because they broke pretty much every pre-election pledge they made and propped up the Tories whilst they pushed through policies they had no mandate to introduce. I voted for the Greens in the EU election, because their policies are closest to my own political ideology. I'll be voting Labour in the next general election because they're the only party with a realistic chance of preventing the Tories from getting a second term.


Did you read the front cover of the manefesto?

Hardly the Lib Dems fault the country voted against scrapping FPTP is it?
Original post by chrisawhitmore
When you say they broke every pre-election pledge, what (other than tuition fees) are you going for. They got through 75% of their manifesto (roughly 75% more than they would have if they'd refused to compromise at all)


The promise to oppose a VAT rise - then voting to back it is the first major one that comes to mind (besides the tuition fees rise). Then there's cutting the top rate of tax, abandoning House of Lords reform, and they also promised to protect the NHS and put more police officers on the street (in actuality police numbers have been cut 15000). That's just off the top of my head.
Original post by Rakas21
I love how people vote for a party that supports PR (coalitions) and then complains when they go with the Tories.


I wasn't complaining, the OP asked who I was planning to vote for in the future and why and I told him. In any case, I don't have a problem with coalitions per se. But when the party you voted for decides to enter a coalition with a party that it's so far apart from ideologically speaking, when a coalition with a party with much more similar policies was a realistic option, I think I, or any other Lib Dem voter, would be justified in criticsing that decision.
Reply 8
Avatar for Quady
Quady
20
Original post by Dez
A coalition is fine. A coalition with the Tories is not, however. Would you still support the Conservatives if during the next election, they teamed up with the BNP? Or Labour if they united with UKIP?


There wasn't a good dance partner though. Brown was 'a bit grumpy' after losing.

Labour who didn't seem that interested in a coalition would have had a super slim majority, and the manifesto was pretty much identicit. On (say) the fees issue, its hardly like Labour would have ripped up their approach either.
Reply 9
Avatar for Quady
Quady
20
Original post by Ziggy Sawdust
when a coalition with a party with much more similar policies was a realistic option,


Who?

The SNP?
Reply 10
Avatar for Mackay
Mackay
17
Original post by Ziggy Sawdust
I voted for the Lib Dems in the last election, I won't be doing so again because they broke pretty much every pre-election pledge they made and propped up the Tories whilst they pushed through policies they had no mandate to introduce. I voted for the Greens in the EU election, because their policies are closest to my own political ideology. I'll be voting Labour in the next general election because they're the only party with a realistic chance of preventing the Tories from getting a second term.


Agree with all of this. Same applies for me on all counts.
Reply 11
Avatar for Dez
Dez
20
Original post by Quady
There wasn't a good dance partner though. Brown was 'a bit grumpy' after losing.

Labour who didn't seem that interested in a coalition would have had a super slim majority, and the manifesto was pretty much identicit. On (say) the fees issue, its hardly like Labour would have ripped up their approach either.


The Lib Dems were under no obligation to join a coaltion at all. They could've said no and just left the Conservatives with a hung parliament, which may have actually given the government a degree of accountability for once.
Original post by Ziggy Sawdust
The promise to oppose a VAT rise - then voting to back it is the first major one that comes to mind (besides the tuition fees rise). Then there's cutting the top rate of tax, abandoning House of Lords reform, and they also promised to protect the NHS and put more police officers on the street (in actuality police numbers have been cut 15000). That's just off the top of my head.


Just a few points to address there. On HoL reform, they really did try, but were overruled by conservatives. They couldn't have done more than they did on that (they went so far as to block boundary reform to try and push the tories into doing it).

On protecting the NHS: it's been pretty much entirely ring-fenced and is performing better on most targets (except in Wales, where Labour run it).

On police on the streets: there's a key misunderstanding which is the idea that police total=police on the beat. They've attempted to move as much paperwork as possible away from police officers and to clerical staff, which has allowed a reduction in police numbers while maintaining front line policing. In much the same way that you wouldn't pay a professional footballer to clean the changing rooms, there's no need to employ a policeman to do most of the paperwork.
Original post by Dez
The Lib Dems were under no obligation to join a coaltion at all. They could've said no and just left the Conservatives with a hung parliament, which may have actually given the government a degree of accountability for once.


Which would have led to another election, at which Lib dems would have been punished for not taking their chance to get some policies through.
I'd say most go to Labour or Green
Reply 15
Avatar for Quady
Quady
20
Original post by Dez
The Lib Dems were under no obligation to join a coaltion at all. They could've said no and just left the Conservatives with a hung parliament, which may have actually given the government a degree of accountability for once.


True enough, although I don't think the accountability would have improved, it just wouldn't have got anything done, which at the time was a non-option.

But I never believed the roof would collapse in the markets if there was a hung parliament, it would have been a very bad time for one.
Original post by Quady
There wasn't a good dance partner though. Brown was 'a bit grumpy' after losing.

Labour who didn't seem that interested in a coalition would have had a super slim majority, and the manifesto was pretty much identicit. On (say) the fees issue, its hardly like Labour would have ripped up their approach either.


They'd have had 315 seats combined. (11 short of an absolute majority, 8 short of a working majority). That means they'd need the SDLP and SNP in on everything they did, and even then they'd be a 2 man backbench rebellion away from failure on every vote.
Reply 17
Avatar for Quady
Quady
20
Original post by chrisawhitmore
They'd have had 315 seats combined. (11 short of an absolute majority, 8 short of a working majority). That means they'd need the SDLP and SNP in on everything they did, and even then they'd be a 2 man backbench rebellion away from failure on every vote.


I know, which is why I said they weren't a good dancing partner.
Reply 18
Avatar for Dez
Dez
20
Original post by chrisawhitmore
Which would have led to another election, at which Lib dems would have been punished for not taking their chance to get some policies through.


Why would there be another* election? What would be the point, even? Not like the result is going to change very much. It seems very unlikely to me that that would've happened simply because the Tories were stuck with a minority government.

* (other than the one in 2015 obviously)
Reply 19
Avatar for Dez
Dez
20
Original post by Quady
True enough, although I don't think the accountability would have improved, it just wouldn't have got anything done, which at the time was a non-option.

But I never believed the roof would collapse in the markets if there was a hung parliament, it would have been a very bad time for one.


That's a fair point I suppose. The cynic in me finds it a bit hard to believe Clegg agreed to the coalition simply for the greater good though.

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you