The Grand Old Miliband

The Grand Old Miliband
He sought ten thousand Lib Dems
He wound them up to the top of the hill
But he'll let them down again

You see there is one issue with being so blatent in stealing the disillusioned of another party as Dave Miliband wants to put it. The fact is that such people want the party that they then support to fit around them, rather that standing for what theye believe in, they are like refugees wanding in the wilderness seeing what fits them best.

What is worse is if you are trying to attract them to something that has lost its way in recent years, that many still within do not recognise as being part of them and their beliefs which many in Labour have found in recent times.

It is why I turn back to that Nick Clegg interview in the Independent yesterday. Not the 'headline grabbing' bit, but elsewhere he said:

"So this [conference] is an incredibly important opportunity for those Liberal Democrats who are in government to show people in the party that they retain the same values, instincts and ambitions – that walking through the door of power does not mean you lose your soul."

If you are coming to us because you share our values we still have thos values he does go on:

"If anything, we are doing the most difficult things now, partly because everything is so obscured by the bad, worrying news about deficit reduction. Rather than it getting worse, maybe over time – after very, very difficult decisions on public spending – the wider purpose and vocation of the Government will become more obvious.

"Both for the Lib Dems as a party and for the country, we need to be more explicit about what a radical, reforming government this is going to be. The worst thing would have been to go into government and be an insipid adornment to the establishment way of doing things."

We are going to make change but we do have this mighty cloud and a think fog left over us, because of the way Labour have left us.

David talks about leading a progressive party in opposition. Yet currently Labour are simply just in opposition. Opposing everything even progressive measures they stood on just a few short months ago. I'm glad there are still no fresh ideas from any of the Labour leadership contenders, because without the ideas there will be no long-term retention of the people you attempt to woo. Labour are

The Lib Dems are a party of ideas, ideas that come from the members as well as the leadership, something that Liberal Democrat conference has already shown and will continue to show over the next few days. Ideas which are progressive. Ideas that we would like to see come into the Government, ideas that can make a real change for the better and betterment of people.