LEADER of the UK Liberal Democrats Tim Farron was in Wales this week for the Welsh party’s conference, in an attempt to rally the troops before the elections in May.
With the party languishing on around 5% support according to the most recent YouGov poll, and facing challenges from four parties, Mr Farron concentrated on Welsh Labour’s perceived poor record in government, and the need for a viable alternative.
He suggested that those looking for a ‘protest vote’ should choose the Lib Dems rather than UKIP. However, considering that the Liberal Democrat policies on, for example, membership of the European Union and immigration are somewhat different to those of UKIP, this could prove to be a somewhat forlorn hope.
Referring to persistent rumours that UKIP will be fielding former Conservative MPs Mark Reckless and Neil Hamilton – something the party has yet to confirm – Mr Farron said: “I find it hard to credit, really, if I may say this as an English Liberal – why would people in Wales vote for English nationalists? That is essentially what they are and their interests are anything but the interests of Wales.”
A major problem for the Lib Dems could prove to be the number of alternative ‘protest votes’ available. Apart from UKIP, the Green Party is gathering in strength, and will be attempting to secure their first list member. An increase in the Green vote is likely to be primarily at the expense of the Liberal Democrats.
Mr Farron was unwilling to say that he was ‘100% certain’ that any Lib Dems would be elected to the Assembly. However, if the YouGov poll is accurate, their vote stands to be more-than halved. With Kirsty Williams as their only constituency AM, this could have serious repercussions for the party’s list AMs – William Powell, Peter Black, Elunedd Parrott and Aled Roberts.
The collapse of the Lib Dem vote in the General Election could be put down largely to a highly unpopular Westminster coalition with the Conservatives, and it will be interesting to see whether the party’s record in Wales, where they have supported a minority Labour government, will suffer less as a result.
Mr Farron criticised Welsh Labour’s perceived ‘right to rule’ claiming that ‘Labour people’ that he met in Wales were ‘kind of insulted and offended at the notion anyone else should try and even contest them, never mind maybe beat them.’
It is worth mentioning that the only time that Labour has looked like possibly being ousted from power in Wales, in 2007, it would have required an ideological hotchpotch of the Conservatives, Plaid Cymru, and the Lib Dems uniting in a ‘rainbow coalition. As The Herald has pointed out before, the leader of Plaid Cymru has ruled out any coalition with the Conservatives, while Andrew RT Davies appears to have ruled out any coalition with anyone, or had it ruled out for him.
The leader of the Westminster Labour Party also came in for some criticism, with Jeremy Corbyn described as ‘a nice bloke, but not a serious alternative to the Tories.’ Since taking over from Nick Clegg, support for the Lib Dems has dipped from 9-10% to around 6% – a trend which appears to have been reflected in Wales.
Mr Farron also claimed that Labour were ‘without doubt the most useless opposition in the history of British politics.
‘The Tories are getting away with cutting universal credit for the hardest working, poorest-paid people… because there is no one to hold them to account. What an outrage.
‘Labour have left the field of play. Liberal Democrats now fill that space.’ Other targets included the Etonian ‘sense of entitlement’ enjoyed by prominent Westminster Conservatives: “David Cameron and his Government have no idea how hard it is for people who don’t enjoy the sorts of income that they do,” he claimed. This would appear to be an attempt to try and take on Labour in Wales, as well as a significant re-invention following the exit of privately-educated banker’s son and Cambridge graduate Nick Clegg. Whether this will have any chance of success or not is open to question, but the Lib Dems may initially find it easier to gain votes from Labour than the Tories or Plaid.
Mr Farron also pledged his party’s support for the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon. ‘The tidal lagoon was an absolute given when the Liberal Democrats were in power. Now it’s massively at risk given that we aren’t,’ he claimed.
Support for the project in Wales has never been doubted. However, as Mr Farron pointed out, after the 2015 General Election, a certain cooling-off has been noted, especially from David Cameron, and Secretary of State for Wales Stephen Crabb. It is unlikely, given the current political standing of the LibDems in Westminster – eight MPs, down from 57 – that they would be able to provide any serious support.
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