The liberals acting illiberally. Who would have thought it? This week I thought I would dedicate my column to the esteemed former leader of the Liberal Democrats, Lord Paddy Ashdown, for engaging in sheer idiotic political behaviour.
Speaking to a near empty conference hall at the Lib Dem conference in Glasgow this week he accused the SNP of promoting divisive policies along similar lines to Europhobic UKIP leader Nigel Farage, the far-right Front National in France led by Marine Le Pen and extremist parties in Germany and Austria.
At this point it is probably worth reminding ourselves of the kind of things these parties have said and stand for. Infamously, it was former French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen (and father of current leader) who said the Second World War gas chambers were a “minor point” in history and the long-term leader of Austria’s Freedom Party Jrg Haider said the Third Reich had an “orderly” employment policy and that SS members were men of honour.
Comparisons between Scotland’s largest political party and these extremists are misplaced, misguided and downright unacceptable.
But let’s not forget, Lord Paddy has form in this type of behaviour.
And he is not the first person to reach for extreme language when their back is against the wall.
During the referendum campaign Alistair Darling compared Alex Salmond to Kim Jong-il and agreed that the SNP represents “blood and soil nationalism”, the ideology of Nazi Germany.
Not that you needed reminding, but the Scottish National Party is a mainstream, moderate social democratic party which the country is now flocking to in its thousands to join.
You know, the party which is so extreme that it restored free education by removing tuition fees, abolished prescription charges so we don’t tax the sick, campaigns tirelessly for the removal of unethical weapons of mass destruction from Scotland’s soil and, as the government, held a referendum which was internationally recognised as a model for other countries. It is a party whose membership reflects all of Scotland’s communities and faiths. If the SNP were anything like what Lord Ashdown suggests, then why are they now the third largest political party which has tripled its membership in one month and seen as the only route to progressive democracy in Scotland? I was told this week that there were more new members at SNP branch meetings than at the Lib Dem conference in Glasgow.
I mean, really, how dare the SNP and the hundreds of thousands from other political parties including the Lib Dems and many from no party affiliation, have the tenacity to exercise the democratic right to independence? Scotland has never been so politically engaged in its democracy. And with nothing more than a thrown egg, occasional ill-judged comments and online trolls which were a plague on all our houses.
This is in contrast to the Lib Dems who were willing partners in what Nicola Sturgeon described as “Westminster’s proverbial Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” who have so far failed to deliver on their solemn vow of Home Rule for Scotland and were hell-bent on scaring the Scottish electorate into submission for daring to vote “yes” and caught using the dark arts on several occasions.
So let’s remind ourselves, the Liberal Democrats are a party which has barely a shred of credibility for failing to deliver on its policy platform.
This is the party which was on the same side as UKIP in the independence referendum. In fact Lib Dem Treasury Minister Danny Alexander MP was even spotted campaigning in Inverness with UKIP MEP David Cockburn.
This is the party which seems prepared to do anything to prop up their Tory allies, prepared to support a UKIP leaning narrative being pushed by the Tories, and to back the Tory’s referendum on Europe when they have attacked the SNP and Yes campaign for the last two years claiming that independence was the biggest threat to our EU membership. It may be a clue as to why they are at 5% in the polls in Scotland and the SNP is leading Labour by 15 points.
Lord Ashdown, who is chairman of the party’s 2015 general election campaign, told activists at their conference that Nick Clegg plans to show how the Lib Dems will influence government should they be part of a new coalition next year. If this is how he means to go on then they are in desperate trouble.
Paddy Ashdown was demeaning himself, his party and his position in politics which is a downright shame for such an educated man and talented politician.
He should know better and has seriously misjudged it if he thinks this is a vote winner, as one thing we do know is that people are tired of this sort of behaviour from Westminster politicians.
Lord Paddy would be better occupied focusing on the battle of ideas and ideals which he is well placed to do.