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The Rt Hon Malcolm Bruce MPLiberal Democrat MP for Gordon |
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The House Magazine: Forward with federalism
September 15, 2008 12:00 AM
By Malcolm Bruce MP in The Liberal Democrat Conference Publication of The House Magazine
By Malcolm Bruce MP in The Liberal Democrat Conference Publication of The House Magazine
The SNP may be in pole position, but the Scottish Lib Dems have reason to be optimistic, says Malcolm Bruce.
Liberal Democrats throughout the UK have mourned the loss of two staunch and inspirational Liberal Democrats this year. First Ray Michie, MP for Argyll and Bute from 1987 to 2001, succumbed to cancer; and in July came the sudden death of Russell Johnston, who was MP for Inverness from 1964 to 1997. Both were strong supporters of home rule and constituency MPs with a great love of the Highlands and the Gaelic language.
Russell led the party and also served as president, presenting uplifting Liberal speeches to a whole generation of Liberals. He was also distinguished in Europe, where he became president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Scottish Liberal Democrats have been in the vanguard of shaping modern Scotland and continue to develop policies which command the support of the people of Scotland. The last general election saw the party win nearly a quarter of the votes cast, and the election of 11 MPs. Willie Rennie's sensational by-election victory in Dunfermline took the total to 12. This is more MPs than the SNP have ever secured, yet the significance of this achievement is not widely acknowledged in the Scottish media.
What is more widely acknowledged is the near-demise of the Conservative Party in Scotland as a credible political force, the implosion of Labour's hegemony and emergence of the SNP administration by a one-seat margin in last year's Holyrood elections.
There is no doubt that the SNP has been able to attract disaffected former Labour voters and Tories who see the party, in some areas at least, as the best way of defeating Labour. Yet support for independence has fall and polls generally show that most voters in Scotland want more powers for the Scottish Parliament within the United Kingdom - very close to the Liberal Democrats' federal policy.
But Liberal Democrats have adapted better to opposition than Labour, who have been in disarray, or the Conservatives, who - astonishing for a Unionist party - have cosied up to the SNP, helping them secure their incoherent, inadequately costed and almost illegal budget.
Week after week at first minister's questions in was Nicol Stephen who discomfited Alex Salmond the most, revealing the SNP leader's less attractive side, as he becomes personal and abusive when riled. Nicol's decision to stand down for family reasons is understandable.
Our new leader will need to present a strong case to persuade a majority of Scottish voters that the Liberal Democrats are closest to their interests and aspirations. Opting for a populist movement whose key objective you don't share is a risky decision.
Politics needs to rise about choosing another group to whinge about. It is about securing Scotland's place in a UK with a positive role in the world, based on its domestic tolerance, freedom, inclusion and enterprise. It is about an agenda for a Liberal Scotland in a Liberal UK, setting an example of Liberal Democracy to the world.
Nick Clegg tells us, and I agree, that there are more people of Liberal leaning than vote Liberal Democrat. We have to show them north and south of the border that voting Liberal Democrat will change the character of politics radically for the better.
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