Sunday 17 April 2011

LIB DEMS DONT LIKE TORIES SAYS WILLIE RENNIE


Yesterday’s Dundee Courier reports that a Leading Fife Liberal Democrat has been accused of hypocrisy after a leaked e-mail revealed that Scottish Lib Dems “don’t like” working with the Tories because they “remember what they did to Scotland”.

Ex Dunfermline West MP and leading Lib Dem central Scotland and Fife list candidate Willie Rennie was responding to a former constituent who expressed concern at the Lib Dem’s Westminster coalition with the Tories. The e-mail reads:

“I’m sorry you feel let down by the Lib Dems. We don’t like working with the Tories. We remember what they did to Scotland in the 1980s. However, we had to get involved to stop the Tories doing their worst”.

He then goes on to highlight the very short list of so called achievements that he believes have benefited Scotland, including the end of child detention at Dungavel. Of course he won't have mentioned that the Tory Home Secretary, speaking last year, continued to defend child detention, and in September the immigration minister Damian Green said the policy was only to minimise detention of children. Then in January this year the English High Court ruled that the UK Border Agency were held to have breached the families’ rights to liberty, privacy and family life (their Article 5 and Article 8 rights), though not Article 3, which relates to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. So not such a huge Lib Dems achievement after all when their partners were clearly doing the usual Tory back-pedalling until the High Court stepped in and, hey presto its a Lib Dem achievement!

Next reduce income tax for low earners. Remember that threshold that the Lib Dem manifesto said should be £10,000? But the Tories watered it down to £7,500, for the tax year 2011-2012 the rest going up in tranches over the length of the English parliament to the magic 10K (if possible say the Tories and it may of course never happen at all due to the usual unforseen exigencies). So more Lib Dem jam tomorrow! And even more ludicrously they have taken steps to reduce tax evasion apparently, God knows what they are seeing as the most successful tax dodgers are actually in the English cabinet with the Lib Dems.

How well we remember Tavish Scott’s lamentable performance on Newsnight the other day. When if one were inclined to be charitable he looked and sounded more like the transport spokesman for Shetland Council than a major national party leader with aspirations to be (Deputy) First Minister. But Tav did his best to distance himself from what Nick Clegg was up to. Why then is Rennie acknowledging that the Lib Dems don’t like working with the Tories. Should he not have told his potential constituent that what the English Lib Dems did was nothing to do with him and he stood by the Scottish Lib Dems record and what he was doubtless hearing on that mythical doorstep with Tavish; now that he wanted to be an list MSP having been told to sling his hook by the actual voters of Fife as an MP?

It was Labour’s election co-ordinator John Park who accused Rennie of being a hypocrite saying that he should not be standing if he disagreed with the coalition. Once again that really, really gray area of the Lib Dems associations north and south of the border comes into play. It seems that what the Scottish Lib Dems mean when they talk of their relations with their English counterparts is that the good stuff is down to them but the bad stuff is down to their English cohorts. Confusing?

14 comments:

  1. "LIB DEMS DONT LIKE TORIES SAYS WILLIE RENNIE"

    I'm fairly sure it's mutual, at least at grass roots level.

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  2. How moronic do these opportunists think folk are?

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  3. Yes Munguin. That pretty well sums it up. I agree with David; politicians and news media treat us like our heads zip up the back. It's so frustrating to be treated like you were seriously thick and couldn't see through their lies.

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  4. QM: yes and they say one thing on newsnight another on the doorstep and clearly another to ex-constituents!

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  5. David clearly they think that we can't think, or add up or anything!

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  6. "LIB DEMS DONT LIKE TORIES nah but the snp do

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  7. Mr. Mxyzptlk:

    Labour love the Tories so much they want to keep David Cameron as Scottish PM for the next four years.

    I can hear them singing from here:

    "Better Tory than independent,
    I'll be a Lord in ermine resplendent,
    When the House of Lords comes a-calling
    It's flunkeys for me."

    Better Tory than independent,
    So what if Labour's not ascendant,
    So what if Scotland turns into wasteland
    It's flunkeys for me."

    Which is a song all good Labour men and women sing when they dream of having a title and their arses planked on a red leather seat in the House of Lords away from all the Scottish plebs. Which is why they're all hoarse.

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  8. Niko,

    SNP are as far from the Tories as you are from common-sense.

    Anyway, Tris & Munguin,

    Off on my travels for a few months. I'll try and pop in and see you now and then. Keep up the good work and have a nice celebration on the 5th!! Take care,

    Sayonara!

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  9. Niko,

    The Tories aren't "close" to the SNP. There are profound issues of disagreement. The key point however is that the we Tories knew how to work a minority govt in a PR parliament to our advantage .. any competent opposition should be able to manage it .... guess that is why Liebore are up s&it% creek without a paddle right now!!

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  10. JB...


    I genuinely miss your contributions when you're not here and always look forward to you being back. So travel safely, come back soon, and pop in as often as you can.


    And you are dead right. It's probably true that Annabel and Alex respect each other's views without agreeing with them. As Annabel Goldie has produced the only credible opposition to the SNP in parliament, and the SNP has proved a fair and strong government, despite being a minority, it is hard to imagine then not having respect for one another. As for the other two amateurs....pfffffff

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  11. Dean...dead right. Annabel has taken the opportunity to work with a minority government. To be fair Tavish has done that too. Iain Gray is so thick that when someone explained to him that his job title was "opposition leader" he naturally thought that he'd better do some opposing, otherwise Big Gordon, the Scottish leader would be cross with him (and god knows you don't want big Gordon cross... ouch no)

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  12. Niko. 'Respect' is probably the word you're looking for.

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  13. Doug. How manmy of the working man's party have ended up sitting in the Lords, passing the port, smoking cigars and generally being aristocratic.

    I see that dick head Reid was on an outing with Botox Face today. What a pair!

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  14. "Niko. 'Respect' is probably the word you're looking for."

    Nah Nokia he can fly as well.

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