Why opposition should really be the prize

We are living through an unprecedented period of political history in the UK. All three of the major political parties are doing their very best to form some sort of coalition government with the Lib Dems operating as the all important missing link.

As a (relatively) loyal Labour voter (who actually voted Lib Dem this time round due to the tactical voting niceties of the first past the post system), I’m fascinated by the apparent eagerness for the Labour party to try and hold onto some sort of power.

I’ll admit that constitutionally, there is no reason why they shouldn’t. In this country, we don’t vote for our prime minister, we vote for the party in government, so arguments to the contrary by the Tories are just plain stupid.

However, there are a number of reasons in my mind, why a Lab/Lib coalition is a bad move for the Labour party:

• Lab/Lib would be doomed to fail - the numbers just don’t add up and, even if the Queens Speech and Budget were passed, it wouldn’t be long before the backbenchers started to revolt, let alone the DUP or SNP
• Public sentiment – whilst it wouldn’t lead to a demise of the government directly, a Lab/Lib Dem coalition is likely to be very unpopular for a number of reasons. This wouldn’t put Labour in a very good position at a future election
• Time to regroup – the Labour party has suffered greatly at this election (OK, perhaps not as much as was feared, but still not great) and it needs time to rebuild and select a leader that can make a clean break with the past and move forwards
• Unpopular decisions – whoever enters into government next will have to make a number of really unpopular decisions in what is likely to be a very weak position, not matter what colour the coalition takes
• Imminent election – again, whoever is in power will not survive very long. Another election is round the corner and the opposition party is likely to be in a stronger position next time round

I have a lot of time for Lib Dem policies and genuinely believe we absolutely need voting reform. But that is not really enough to justify a cobbled together government (at least from Labour’s standpoint) that wouldn’t really survive in any case.

I firmly believe that the best bet for Labour is to enter into opposition, choose a charismatic leader that can really take the party forward, put in place strong opposition to what are likely to be unpopular moves by the tories (and Lib Dems) and get ready to take a running jump at the next election, which is likely to occur in the near to mid future.

Danny Whatmough