Note: This article is authored by Darren Johnson, Green Party AM [pictured].
For this article, I’ve been asked to make the case for Liberal Democrats giving their second Mayoral votes to Siân Berry, the Green candidate. But this morning, I visited Lib Dem HQ at Cowley Street in Westminster to deliver an open letter (which you can read on this very blog) to Nick Clegg making an even stronger ask: Lib Dems should give their first vote to Siân.
Obviously I think everyone should give their first vote to Siân, but under normal circumstances I wouldn’t expect significant numbers of active supporters of any other party to desert their candidate. But these are not normal circumstances. As the campaign progresses, it becomes increasingly apparent that Liberal Democrats really have no candidate of their own.
Brian Paddick is not a Liberal Democrat. This is becoming incrasingly clear as the campiagn progresses, and he goes to greater and greater lengths to distance himself from longheld Lib Dem policy for London. This realisation must surely leave Lib Dems wondering whether to vote for their rosette or their policies.
As I said in my letter to Nick, I believe that Lib Dems are characterised by a practical rather than tribal politocal nature, and I think many will now look beyond their official candidate for one that really represents their aspirations for London.
It’s particularly on the environment that Brian Paddick is driving a wedge between himself and his adopted party. A very significant proportion of Lib Dem support nationwide, and perhaps especially in London, is attracted to the party by its work on the environment in general and climate change in particular. But Brian Paddick is using his temporary leadership position in the London party to tear up key environmental policies in pursuit of ecologically ambivalent Conservative voters.
On the Low Emissions Zone, his opposition puts him further from Lib Dem or Green policy than even Boris Johnson. His allegation that, in introducing a variable congestion charge to exempt cleaner cars and discourage the most polluting, as playing politics with the planet, presumably also tars Lib Dem MP Lynne Featherstone, who, with Siân, was an early champion of the policy while Ken Livingstone was still resistant. His proposal to privatise the operations of the Tube network stands in stark contrast to the ballot paper description of Lib Dem candidates in 2000: “Liberal Democrats Against Tube Sell-off”.
In contrast, Jenny Jones and I have stood alongside Lib Dem AMs on all of these issues in the last eight years. Whether elected Mayor or AM, Siân can be relied upon to continue delivering real, socially progressive changes to make London the world environmental leader I believe that Liberal Democrats want it to be.
The position that Liberal Democrat voters have been put in is intolerable. Of course they should have a candidate of their own that reflects their values. But the reality is that they have been denied that, and I believe the candidate that must now be the natural home for environmentally and socially progressive Lib Dem votes is Siân Berry.
Darren Johnson AM
Darren Johnson AM
18 comments:
Darren, I'm afraid this is just coming across to me as the Green Party inexplicably deciding to do Ken's dirty work and split the opposition vote - once he had established that the Lib Dems would not sully their principles by backing him. Substantive comment on the points in your letter is here:
http://fabulousblueporcupine.wordpress.com/2008/03/27/exclusive-greens-were-labours-second-choice/
The net effect as far as this Lib Dem voter is concerned is that you've lost a second preference vote for Sian Berry.
Julian, why on Earth are you giving space for blatant Green Party propaganda in your blog? Not that it would probably make any difference, but still. Darren's article is just irritating rubbish and if anything, convinces Lib Dems not to give their vote, first or second, to Siân.
And Darren, why should the Lib Dems vote for Siân, as Brian is a much better and a much more liberal candidate? Brian is a committed Liberal Democrats since when, and also his ideas are much more liberal than Siân's. We are liberals, not socialists. And Siân has already agreed to exchange her second votes with Ken, who is supporting muslim fundamentalists. As for being green, which comes on second place after being liberal to me, I agree with Nicholas Blincoe that Brian Paddick is much more green than Siân or the so-called "Green" Party.
Hello Terry, thanks for the message.
In response to your question (on why I've used my blog to publish this comment), today's articles appear due to the following:
A few days ago, when musing over whether I should use my own second preference and if so, for whom, I thought it would be an idea to offer rival candidates a space in which to convince us LDs who we should vote for as second preference, if not first.
I approached the Greens and today had a response in which they agreed to do so. As I considered their open letter newsworthy, I ran with it, and this specific post is their entry for the original idea of pitching their candidate to us.
I'm waiting to see if I can get similar pieces from Ken's people and Boris's people.
As a liberal, I feel there is no harm in any opinion being given a forum for debate and thus have no qualms about publishing this on my blog.
Perhaps, however, I should have explained this beforehand and should stress that I intend on voteing for Brian Paddick and am still undecided on whether or not to use my second preference vote.
Ugh, spelling correction - "voting"
I would have thought, Darren whoever, that it is Green voters, not Lib Dems, who have been put in an intolerable position. The nitwit Sian Berry is trying to trade their second preference votes to Ken Livingstone in return for - absolutely nothing. Ken generously says he will give his second preference vote to Sian. big deal. No-one will be counting it, because she surely isn't going to be in the top two. So the Greens find themselves allied with Ken and Labour, when both are evidently going out of fashion. The Greens have been having a miserable time in recent London by-elections. Doesn't look as though that is about to change anytime soon.
Terry R - surely we all know by now that Darren thingummy is a media whore who'll write whatever's needed for anyone.
The Watermelons have been offered places in a third term Livingstone Cabinet, hence the Molotov-Ribbentrop 2nd pref pact. Even so, arguing for Liberal members to 1st pref Berry (and presumably 2nd pref Livingstone?) is arrogant to the point of stupidity.
Despite being a fairly solid environmentalist, I wouldn't even consider voting Green. They're a bunch of royal tits. Half of them are just the usual far-left student politicians who don't even care about the environment, certainly not as much as I do.
At this rate I might end up supporting BoJo for second place. The Greens might have got my support if they'd behaved better (I'm certainly not against what they say they stand for, though whether they actually stand for it is another matter) but they've thrown it away.
Though having said that, I don't live in London, and am not entitled to vote in this election, so Leninspart and Nutty won't be weeping over the fact that I'm against them.
It would be encouraging if anyone could engage with Darren on the issues of a) tube privatisastion and b) Paddick's view on the revamped congestion charge.
Yes, everyone is ignoring Darren's points about Brian's very un-green, un-Lib Dem positions and opting instead for playground namecalling. Hm.
Scott & g - I have on my blog (link provided). Go on, you know you want to!
So you are allowing the Greens to tout for second preferences from Lib Dems BUT the Greens have expressed already that all their second preferences shoul,d go to ken Livingstone. This is a very lopsided sort of fairness when you give the Greens publicity like this.
This reminds me of a training day I went to 15 years ago in North norfolk hosted by Chris (now Lord) Rennard, and he highlighted one of the stupidest campaigning gaffes he had ever come across when an SDP candidate provided space for the opposition on his leaflets becayse he felt his views would win the day. The SDP candidate didn't win. All that happened was that he gave credibility to the opposition.
Oh dear !
Nich, thanks for your comment.
Firstly, this blog is not Party-funded campaign literature targeted at the voting public - it is a blog predominantly read by Lib Dems and created independently by myself.
Secondly, I'm perfectly happy with my offer to other parties not being conditional on support for our candidate. I am not running Cowley Street here, nor engaging in political tactics; I'm simply giving voice to rival opinions that we need to consider.
I believe this is a liberal and democratic thing to do.
Darren is wrong about Brian wanting to 'privatise' the Tube. All Brian is suggesting is that the Tube is run in EXACTLY the same way as the bus network, the Docklands Light Rail and the renewed East London Line are. If Livingstone is happy enough about those (successful) transport systems being operated like that, whats wrong with doing the same on the Tube?
And as for the Low Emission Zone people should be asking Darren why he is advocating people voting for someone who only this spring brought forward a measure that will only increase the number of cars entering the existing Congestion Charge zone, and goes ahead with a scheme where Transport for London themselves admit that air quality in London will only improve by 0.3%? They are better and more radical ways to tackle air pollution in London.
Darren and his Green colleague on the London Assembly have always been Ken’s supporters. They have been taken in by being granted positions of supposed 'influence’, seen Ken praise them when he wants their votes, and ignore them when he doesn’t. It’s a crying shame they have been duped so
If you want to be unbiased and provide a forum for alternate views to be considered and discussed, then you should give each equal prominence and space.
I'm sorry not to be able to lead the prosecution against your naivete, as other have already got there ahead of me (and I'm uncommitted!).
Hello Holly,
I'm afraid I'm not sure what you mean by:
"then you should give each equal prominence and space."
As I've explained, I offered space to the Conservative, Labour and Green Party teams.
So far I haven't received official submissions from the Conservative and Labour party teams (and indeed there's no reason why they should want to utilise a very small-time LD blog) but opinion pieces from Ken and Boris supporters will feature here very soon.
Equally I'd provide space for a response by Brian Paddick's team to any arguments against them (although again, I doubt this blog or issue is significant enough to attract such interest).
To clarify (which I seem to be doing an awful lot of), the open letter to Nick Clegg was public (hence 'open'); I just reported it, as a story, rather quickly. The only exclusive space I've given the Green Party is one short feature on their candidate - the same as offered to all candidates.
I will now depart for a couple of hours as these Focuses are, sadly, not self-delivering. [/self-righteous party-loyal activity-demonstrating reference]
I don't see why I would want to vote Green.
Contrary to popular belief, I do care about environmental issues, but the Green Party being an unreconstructed anti-capitalist, anti-liberal, left wing party would create more problems than it would ever solve.
One look at Siân Berry's policies and I see that she would be an absolute disaster for quality of life for all in London.
Perhaps would have 2nd preffed for the Greens after Paddick. I definately won't be now. I think no-one will get it
I think it is a good idea to invite guest writers onto this blog. I reject the idea, as you do, that we should issue propaganda on behalf of Cowley Street. In fact given that is what so many Lib Dem bloggers appear to do, most of them are not worth reading (in my personal opinion).
What I would like to see is a non-partisan debate between the parties.
I think that all political parties are trying to be Green at the moment. What stops us sometimes is;
1/ Oppositionalism. The need for a party to justify it's existance by opposing the other parties for the sake of it, and
2/ Business interests. Labour have been knocked off course in being Green by being lobbied by business, and the Conservatives have been stymied as well. The Liberal Democrats, which I support have a generally very good record, but I wonder if they have a blind spot with their belief in the free market on the power of the business lobby. The policies - which are mostly good, sit uneasily with the rhetoric.
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