A Few Good Things The Lib Dems Are Doing…
Here’s the thing…
I’m not a supporter of this government. Of course I’m not. I’m a Lib Dem, and this government’s MPs are 5/6 Tories.
But nor have I been a supporter of any other government in my lifetime (possibly I may have supported the dying days of the Callaghan administration, but I was only a few months old at the time, and rather politically naive). And as far as I can see the bad things this government is doing are the same bad things that every government of my lifetime has done, while it’s doing a few good things that none of the others have. And the good things seem to me to be pretty much entirely down to the Lib Dems.
Furthermore, the Lib Dems also seem to be preventing a lot of the worst ideas the Tories have.
However, the ranting about ‘ConDems’ and so on seems to have left a lot of people – decent people, for the most part – with the impression that by going into coalition with the Tories, the Lib Dems have ensured that Satan will rule the earth for a thousand years. Because the very real good stuff that’s being done really isn’t getting spoken about.
So every so often I’m going to just do a quick run-down of good things the Lib Dems are doing as a party – either good government measures they’ve brought in, good new policies from the party, or bad government measures they’ve stopped. This doesn’t mean I’ve suddenly turned into some government loyalist – *FAR* from it – and I’ll continue attacking bad government decisions as much as anyone. But it should go some way toward explaining why I’m still in the party.
Vince Cable and Danny Alexander resist pressure to drop the 50% tax rate – though they may support replacing it with a mansion tax (probably a good idea – taxes on property tend to be fairer than taxes on income) they’re ensuring that any tax cuts benefit poorer, rather than richer, people.
The party is likely to call for an inquiry into decriminalising drugs.
The worst parts of the Digital Economy Act are getting dropped, and copyright law will be reworked to make better allowances for personal use. Julian Huppert is still pushing for even more reform, though.
The Hughes Report, if implemented, will ensure more young people from poor backgrounds get to go to university.
The Lib Dems, unlike other parties, stood up to Murdoch and refused to be bullied.
The government will be the first to add new social housing since Thatcher started selling council houses off.
And so on… this is just a list of things from the last three weeks – see this for some of the other things the Lib Dems have already done.
And these may look like only minor good things – and the ones from the last few weeks are, though the ones in that last link include some major, important, good things – but other than the first three years of the Blair government (which brought in a few decent things like the minimum wage) I can’t think of any government in my lifetime where I could list even that many small good things they’d done.
So yes, I’m going to continue to fight against the illiberal tendencies of this government, and to ensure that the Liberal members live up to their professed ideals, but I’ll continue to do so from within the party.
Linkblogging For 05/08/11
Why is it that when you take a week off from work you immediately become ten times as busy as normal?
Normal bloggery will resume next week, and I’m hoping PEP! 3 will be out at the end of next week.
Meanwhile, links.
Andrew Rilstone says all that needs to be said on the death penalty controversy. Well, really, all that needs to be said is “shut up you bloodthirsty barbarians”, but he goes into slightly more detail. I don’t comment enough on Rilstone’s blog, because generally I’d just say “yes, I agree”, but I do agree.
On This Deity (a blog I only discovered because of the Arthur Lee thing the other day, which looks at great-but-obscurish events that happened on particular days, usually people dying) on Mileva Maric, Einstein’s first wife who was apparently also his collaborator, but who got left out of the official story.
Two new books by self-publishers who I know can write. Chris Browning, who sometimes comments here and has been a friend of mine for years, has put out a novel. He says himself it’s a rough draft, but I bet it’s still interesting (and at 300,000 words it’s *LONG*). Meanwhile Steven Baxter, who used to be known as Anton Vowl and does two wonderful blogs (one on the media and one on depression) has put out a book of his blog posts. Please note, I’ve not yet read either of these (payday is tomorrow, so I can’t even order them til then), so I can’t comment on the quality of the finished books. But the writers are both superb.
A wonderful piece of writing by Leonard Pierce on what it’s like being an atheist but listening to the wonderful religious music of Claude Ely. One of the best pieces of music writing I’ve read in ages.
Also from Leonard, a short story that reads like a great folk tale, The Boy Who Was Death.
A six-part radio show on the Beach Boys, ripped to MP3
Hal Blaine is on Twitter, and acknowledged my existence!
New Spotify Playlist: In Memoriam Arthur Lee
I’ve still got quite a bit of writer’s block, and am working on a book and on the Mindless Ones stuff, but didn’t want to let this anniversary pass unmarked.
Five years ago today, Arthur Lee died. I still find it nearly impossible to believe that. While I was never lucky enough to know him, I *was* lucky enough to see him perform live five times between 2002 and 2005, during the all-too-brief creative renaissance he had after his release from prison, when he was planning a new album and being celebrated in the House of Commons (Early Day Motion 1369 – “That this House pays tribute to the legendary Arthur Lee, also known as Arthurly, frontman and inspiration of Love, the world’s greatest rock band and creators of Forever Changes, the greatest album of all time; notes that following his release from jail he is currently touring Europe; and urges honourable and especially Right honourable Members to consider the potential benefit to their constituents if they were, with the indulgence of their whips, to lighten up and tune in to one of his forthcoming British gigs.”).
I’ve never seen anyone more *alive* than Lee was, and I still can’t really believe he’s dead. Even in the last year of his life, he had an astonishing, beautiful voice and was moving like a man half his age, as well as, of course, performing the wonderful songs he’d written.
Here’s a spotify playlist of some of my favourite things by Lee. I’ll try to find time in the next few days to go through it track-by-track, but it’s too hot for me to think right now, and I want to get this up today.
Listen to his song.
More From Me On Mindless Ones
Here. I contribute about 1000 words (or about the length of one of my normal posts here) to part two of the LoEG annocommentations, mostly adding little bits about Aleister Crowley. Amypoodle, Bobsy and Zom all contribute far more (I was ill when we did this one).
For those wondering where I am, I’ve been working on these, having a rest (I’m off work), and also in the last few days I’ve churned out 90 pages of the book on the Monkees I’m doing (which I’m going to publish first and then serialise on the blog, rather than the other way round like my previous ones).
(That kind of thing always happens to me, incidentally – I work very, very hard on the Sci-Ence! or An Incomprehensible Condition type books, and then it’s like the part of my brain that does that kind of thing goes completely to sleep – it’s been like pulling teeth doing the LoEG annocoms, because I’m having to force that kind of writing, which normally comes naturally. But then I’m absolutely fluent with the totally different style I use for my music criticism. I’ve no idea if the Monkees book is any good or not, but it’s coming very fast right now, at least in first draft).
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