September 21, 2010
FINISH THE THOUGHT:
The liberal threat to the Liberal Democrats (Philip Stephens, September 20 2010, Financial Times)
The prime minister is happy for the country to warm to Mr Clegg’s brand of liberalism. To the extent that he has an attachment to political ideology, Mr Cameron is something of a liberal himself.What interests him is power. The partnership with Mr Clegg allows him to pull the Tories towards the centre. He calculates that a Britain that has grown content with coalition liberalism may well conclude it has not much need of the Lib Dems. [...]
Many of the party’s supporters have already deserted, charging Mr Clegg as a collaborator in the Tory assault on the state. Others worry the party’s identity is being smothered. More are likely to flee when the spending cuts begin to bite. If the squeeze pushes the economy back towards recession, the flight could become a flood.
Many Lib Dems do not accept their leader’s definition of liberalism. Mr Clegg draws inspiration from John Stuart Mill, marrying social liberalism to limited interference in the economic lives of citizens. Many in his party prefer the party’s 20th century icons John Maynard Keynes and William Beveridge – champions of active government as an architect of progress.
Mill would have applauded Mr Clegg’s strategy of lifting those on low incomes out of the tax net. Keynes would have cautioned against rapid fiscal retrenchment, and Beveridge would have noticed that the poorest gain least from income tax cuts.
In his own terms, Mr Clegg’s legacy may be a more liberal Britain. Whether the Lib Dems survive to enjoy it is another question.
The danger for the Lib-Dems isn't that the reforms will fail, but that they'll succeed, repudiating the case for a Keynesian party.
