If Oscar Wilde was right, and the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about, then it’s a truth that has come to define the Liberal Democrats over the past four and a half years. As a protest party handed the keys to Government in 2010, they have been accused of selling out, of abandoning their principles for a taste of power, and of political naivete in the way they approached coalition working.
The Lib Dem brand has certainly received a sound political bruising since the Coalition agreement was signed, and it’s in some ways surprising that the partnership has lasted as long as it has. But the party is nothing if not pragmatic. Though floundering at around 8% in the polls (now a significant way behind UKIP), the Lib Dems have clearly not lost their fighting spirit. Their conference this week, though relatively quiet, is nonetheless upbeat, with fringes and conference hall speeches doggedly reminding delegates that the party may well still hold the balance of power in the next parliament.
What seems to be at the heart of many of the conference discussions is not policy, but presentation. There seems to be a recognition (and a certain amount of hand-wringing) about how to rehabilitate the Lib Dem brand ahead of next May. If a reputation takes years to build and only a day to destroy, that day was arguably when the party seemingly broke its promise on tuition fees, a high profile policy that until then had formed one of the cornerstones of Lib Dem education policy. This u-turn set the political and media narrative of a party cow-towing to its Conservative masters that the Lib Dems have found it difficult to shake.
The party admits that it has had trouble getting cut through for its messages around its achievements in government, including raising the personal allowance, introducing the pension triple lock, the pupil premium and securing same-sex marriage. It also recognises that many of its most significant achievements have been in putting the brakes on Conservative policy – such as tax breaks for married couples, inheritance tax breaks for the very wealthy and abolishing the Human Rights Act. Messages about what you’ve done, rather than what you’ve stopped from happening, are always going to resonate better with the media and an electorate increasingly disillusioned with politics.
So what do the Liberal Democrats need to do between now and next May to bolster its brand? Firstly, whilst they should not be afraid to champion the ways in which they have prevented Tory policies from reaching the statute book, they also need to set out a positive agenda that reminds the electorate that they are more than a moderating force. The party has achieved some significant successes in the last four and a half years, and their unpopularity suggests that the party has been punished not for the decisions it has taken (though there have been clear exceptions) but rather the company it has kept.
The party needs to continue talking about economic renewal, environmental sustainability and progressive and inclusive politics. It needs to set out a distinctive policy platform for 2015 that reminds voters that there is an alternative to the managerialism of both Labour and the Conservatives, and it needs to demonstrate conclusively that the party has dealt with the internal problems that the Lord Rennard allegations threw into such stark relief.
There also needs to be a clearer articulation that the naitvite that arguably beset the party in the rose garden will not colour the party’s judgement should they find themselves in similar negotiations in May. The party has already been clear that it will negotiate with the party with whom it could form a parliamentary majority in the event of a hung parliament. However, they should also be clear that it will not form a coalition under any and all circumstances. The party will have its red lines, and needs to make it clear that the negotiations cannot and should not be a one-way street.
The Lib Dems will be under no illusions in May if they hold the balance of power and the party will fight tooth and nail to make sure that the government’s policy agenda represents Lib Dem priorities as well of those of its coalition partner. The party will also be more aware of the presentational pitfalls of coalition and the importance of protecting the party’s brand.