How the election and the coalition has shaped my political alignment

Image by The Prime Minister's Office via Flickr

At the time leading up to the election I was unsure who I'd vote for and now I'm a member of a political party. I wasn't sure whether to vote for Labour or the Lib Dems and now I'm a Labour party member and would not even give my second preference (should AV be passed) to the Liberal Democrats still lead by Nick Clegg. This change is a response to two things. The cuts which the coalition has put in place are going to hit the poorest and the most vulnerable in our society. I think that beyond merely an economic disagreement and questions about the role and size of government, these cuts are just wrong. Some of the cuts are taking apart benefits for people who cannot work (carers allowance and incapacity benefit) that everyone agrees are the role of government. There are some areas in which I agree with the coalition (prison/sentencing reform being one) but none of them compensate for the immorality (in my view) of some of these cuts. The cuts are being made quicker and deeper than is at all necessary. My opposition to the coalition and the Labour leadership election has made me join the Labour party. Now as I've said opposition to the coalition not just to the Conservative party but also to the Liberal Democrats.

The Liberal Democrats have not just backed these cuts as being part of the coalition but supported them anyway. Nick Clegg lied directly during the election. Lying is a big word and I don't use it lightly. I don't believe that politicians as a whole lie. I HATE the idea that all politicians are liars and you can't believe a word they say. They mislead in order to get elected, yes, they promise more than they can possibly achieve, yes but they don't usually out right lie. In an election usually politicians campaign on the general position they will take if they get into government. The Liberal Democrats campaigned that cutting now would be damaging to the economy and that cutting deeply would be unfair and hurt the poorest and most vulnerable. However since the election Nick Clegg has said (in "The Five Days That Changed Britain") that before the election he changed his mind and never mentioned the people who might vote for him. In the Labour-Lib Dem coalition talks the Liberal Democrats demanded cuts straight away, the opposite of what they campaigned on. In this way they lied. That's why I couldn't give the Liberal Democrats my second preference whilst they are still lead by Nick Clegg.

I said before the elections that I knew that I shared the Labour party's values but wasn't sure if I wanted to vote for the current government. Now I've been following the Labour leadership hustings and what each of the candidates has been saying I'd be happy with any of them as leader and with the direction they would lead the Labour party in. I know that politically I belong with the Labour party and really I feel I was wrong in not doing more to support them during the elections. At the moment I'm unsure which of the two Milibands I'd rather have as leader now that I'm pretty sure I don't want to give my first preference to one of the other candidates.