The atmosphere is a mite tricky at the moment in Liberal Democrat circles. There is a sense, because the Government is doing things that we're not keen on, and our Party is part of the Government, that it is right and proper to criticise our MPs and, in particular, our Ministers.
I find myself tempted to join in from time to time, but find myself holding back. Can I insist that every major area of Liberal Democrat policy is enacted, or should I accept that, as a minority part of the administration, I am going to have to accept the result of negotiations between the two wings of the Coalition? Am I a purist, or a pragmatist?
It is difficult. I for one didn't enter politics to enact Conservative Party policies, but then again, I never really expected to get an opportunity to enact Liberal Democrat ones (hoped, yes, expected...). So I find myself attempting to determine the level of influence that Liberal Democrats have on Coalition policy. It isn't easy, especially without much data on what Conservative policy actually was.
And policy-making matters. I have a sense of what we want, and a sense of ownership, given my right to vote on policies at our Federal Conference. That sense of ownership is widely-held, and deeply felt, which makes coping with the imposition of Conservative policies in key areas difficult to accept. It's an emotional, almost visceral thing. "We've got so much good policy,", the argument goes, "why should we accept a policy we know to be inferior?". Decades of opposition has dullened any sense of compromise amongst those who haven't been in local government, or in Scotland, or in Wales, where coalitions, and thus compromise, are a fact of life.
Conservatives are more comfortable with ideology than policy. They don't have a clear means to influence policy, most of which comes from the intellectual chemistry laboratory that is Oliver Letwin and his team of policy wonks. Ideology is simple - no to big government and Europe, yes to lower taxes and reduced regulation - and the detail can be left to others, as long as they understand the basic principles. They also like power, sometimes to the extent that it doesn't matter what they do, as long as it is they that are doing it.
Therefore, we run the risk of losing our sense of perspective. We have achieved much that, six months ago, we would have longed for. The deferral of a renewal decision on Trident until the end of this Parliament, significant increases in income tax thresholds, legislation to reform the House of Lords and our electoral system, the new Green Investment Bank, to name but four, and none of them things that the Conservatives would have done on their own account. Yes, there are elements that we don't like, but from the squealing going on amongst some Conservative parliamentarians, it is evident that they're not overly comfortable either. Perhaps the balance is not far off being right?
It is entirely right that we debate amongst ourselves what our priorities should be, and that we should use our Conferences, our policy-making apparatus, and our access to influence Government thinking. But we should keep that debate respectful, both of each other as individuals, and of our philosophy and principles, so that we can face the new challenges together.
