Dear All
In the 2010 Westminster
election, both Labour and Conservative leaders debated with Nick Clegg on prime
time television.
One of the themes used by both Gordion Brown and David
Cameron was:
"I agree with Nick"!
Nick Clegg did well in the TV debates, as an underdog, he
ran a successful PR strategy which saw the Lib Dems 'win' in the debates.
This performance allowed the Lib Dems to go into Government
with the Conservatives, as a unity Government, at least on the surface.
Clegg was to come a cropper, what did him and his party in
was reneging on a promise which they had no intention of keeping.
The public didn't like being lied too, and his party
suffered because of it, and will continue to suffer.
For whatever reason, Nick Clegg has decided to go head to
head in TV debates with Nigel Farage of Ukip, Ukip represent a danger not just
to his party but also to the Conservatives.
Clegg's problem isn't that he cannot deliver a good line,
his problem is that he can't win over the people, and the British people are
moving towards Ukip.
So, rather than putting down Farage, Nick Clegg is getting
the political shit kicked out of him, he has had two attempts to put down
Farage, and has had two public drubbings.
I am a big fan of the European Union, there is a lot of good
in it, trouble is the European project isn't working the way it really should.
People, ordinary people are seeing that their futures and
their borders and sovereignty are being eroded, and the main stream parties
rather than defending their interests are unwilling to address the real
concerns that people have.
And we are talking about immigration.
Nigel Farage and Ukip have tapped into people's fears and
concerns and when the mainstrream parties don't or won't listen, people turn
and listen to other voices.
Ukip is that voice, for the most part in England . The
Ukip presence has really taken off in Scotland , those on the left dismiss
Ukip as 'racist', they fear Ukip so, they brand people in it racist.
In the second debate, Nick Clegg went on the attack,
accusing Mr Farage of fostering a 'dangerous fantasy' about Britain leaving
the European Union.
Is that a dangerous fantasy?
No, it is a choice, a political choice, a financial choice
and a social choice.
Ukip leader urged voters to join a 'People's Army' to topple
the political establishment in Brussels , but
Farage has his sights not just set on Brussels
but also Westminster .
Two polls showed he had won by a margin of more than 2-1
over Clegg.
In response to the mainstream voice losing out, critics fell back on the old standby, accusing Farage of using the language of the BNP. This type of smear has been running for quite some time, but that doesn't appear to work, in fact you could say that tactic has backfired. In trying to label Farage and Co as 'racists', they are also branding the British people as 'racists'.
Farage is appealing using popularism to the disenfranchised,
the completely disenfranchised.
Two snap polls suggested viewers saw the Ukip leader as the
overwhelming winner of the BBC debate.
YouGov survey came out at 68% in favour of Farage with Clegg
pulling a miserable 20%.
An ICM poll for the Guardian showed that 69 per cent gave it
to Mr Farage, and 31 per cent the Deputy Prime Minister.
Whatever poll you look at, there is a message for all
mainstream parties, people aren't willing to give them the benefit of the doubt
for much longer.
As Farage gets more exposure to present his arguments, it is
only natural that his 'stock' will rise at the expense of others. As a wake up
call for the Lib Dems, people who voted for them in 2010, 55% preferred Mr
Farage.
In politics, it can get heated, this second outing saw Clegg
go more on the attack, this led to the rematch being more bitter than last
week’s exchange.
Each man branded the other as liars and fantasists.
Down at the office, the Lib Dems must be pretty miserable, if attacking Farage won't work and going soft won't work either, the question running through their brains, what will work?
How to solve a problem like Nigel!
Clegg's response to being betaen up on TV was:
"I totally accept that what I say might not be popular,
clearly as the polls have indicated overnight,' he said on his weekly LBC radio
phone-in. I don't feel bruised at all... The debate has now finally started.
These were two hours of a debate that will now go on month in, month
out. I understand given the myth making around the EU over the last 20
years it is quite a challenge to contest these myths and these settled
perceptions. But I am delighted the debate has started because this is a
marathon not a sprint."
Whether it is a sprint or a marathon, Clegg is certainly
wearing the wrong clothes for either.
Clegg's only bit of joy was when he blasted Nigel Farage for
‘indefensible’ comments in which he suggested he admired Russian president
Vladimir Putin for outwitting the EU and Western leaders over Syria and
Ukraine.
On Syria ,
the Russians have played a blinder with the West backing a coup over the
legitimate Government. Although Syria
isn't perfect, the alternative is much worse, the opposition is divided, it
doesn't speak with one voice, and the West was acting like cheerleaders.
On the Ukraine ,
the Russians have no business doing what they have done, the referendum is
illegal and the pebble they have dropped will be rippling for some considerable
time to come. Seizing the Crimea was a
seriously bad idea, and harks back to expansionism of the old Soviet era. Our
American cousins have been wanting to set up a missile defence system, the
Russians feel threatened by this, personally, it seems a lot of money for a
limited benefit, the world has moved on quite some distance since the fall of
communism. Why invade when financial and currency warfare is cheap and
generates a profit?
In a heated moment, Clegg pulled out a 'smoking gun; a Ukip
leaflet featuring a Native American which stated:
"He used to ignore immigration. Now he lives on a
reservation."
In trying to be too clever, Clegg opted for some prepared
jibes, including saying the Lib Dems were ‘the party of in’ in terms of the EU,
while Ukip was the ‘party of Put-in’. I don't the comedy value of that one will
have them rolling in the aisles somehow.
Farage had more traction, with going with Clegg is a 'liar',
and highlighted the number of laws were imposed on the UK by the
EU.
He said:
"By saying 7 per cent of our laws are made in Brussels , you are wilfully
lying to the British people about the extent to which we have given away
control of our country and our democracy."
Farage added:
"I want the EU to end, but I want it to end
democratically. If it doesn’t end democratically, I’m afraid it will end very
unpleasantly. If you take away from people their ability through the ballot box
to change their future because they have given away control of everything to
somebody else, I’m afraid they tend to resort to unpleasant means. This is our
country. It is a very good country. It is a country that developed the
principle of parliamentary democracy. it has been given away through a whole
series of lies and deceit. Let's take back control of our borders. Let's stop
giving £55million a day as a membership fee of a club we don't need to be part
of. Let's free ourselves up. I know the people are behind this. Come and join
the People's Army. Let's topple the establishment that led use into this mess."
On
In a piece of truth telling
on the political reality in Britain , he mentioned the career
political class and their friends in big business.
On immigration, Nigel Farage said Europe's open door policy
meant that 485million people were able to move to Britain .
He warned that immigration has 'left the white working
class, effectively, as an underclass and that, I think, is a disaster'.
Clegg dismissed that as 'more dangerous scaremongering'.
So, are white working class, effectively an underclass?
I would say that is a pretty fair assessment, we see it in
many areas of society, such as in higher education, were a trickle of poor
people manage to secure places at universities. The corruption in Britain
will eventually reach a tipping point, when it does, the mainstream parties
will see seats going towards other groups, the big three have effectively
operated a cartel were a career political class has flourished, the problem is
on both sides of the Scottish and English border.
The Lib Dems are a party in decline, Clegg is to blame for
that, he sold out his entire party for a few seats at the Conservative Cabinet,
called a coalition, Clegg and Co are human sandbags, they take the hits for
what Cameron and others are doing. Their membership is 44,000 down a third on
the 65,000-plus levels it enjoyed before joining the Conservatives in coalition
government in 2010.
Ukip has seen its membership rise dramatically, 20,000 at
the end of 2012 to 35,000.
Farage aims to replace
the Lib Dems as the third major force in British politics, as long as he
treads carefully, he might pull that off.
One thing is certain, Ukip leader wouldn't be saying:
"I agree with Nick".
As to Clegg, he took a gamble, that gamble failed to pay
off, in a most spectacular fashion, Farage understands who to use people
positions to win over support, Clegg is tied to the old style dogma.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at 
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