UK's Liberal Democrats, Political Positions?

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

Forgive me if I'm a little fuzzy on this, but what are the political positions of the Liberal Democrats exactly?  I know they're to the left of Labour on many topics, but I'm not too sure what else there is about them (aside from the social liberal/market liberal split in the party).

[You kip if you want to...]

Anything which is moderately indecisive.

[Lief 🗽]

Too feckless on defence and of a pre-9/11 mindset when it comes to security, for a start.

Translation: they're against the police state that Britain has become, unlike the other two parties. And that is why people need to vote for them.

[Democratic Hawk]

From their tactics, locally, it's hard to tell. I've seen leaflets with them running on Gordon Brown standing outside 10 Downing Street with Margaret Thatcher (i.e. playing on residual local antipathy towards her); yet there's speculation that they'll jump into bed with the Party of Thatcher, in the event of a hung parliament, having played on residual anti-Thatcher sentiments for Labour votes

I wouldn't vote for them. Too feckless on defence and of a pre-9/11 mindset when it comes to security, for a start

[Democratic Hawk]

Too feckless on defence and of a pre-9/11 mindset when it comes to security, for a start.

Translation: they're against the police state that Britain has become, unlike the other two parties. And that is why people need to vote for them.

But I'm a neocon, Lief , for whom, security serves only to enhance liberty from those who'd seek to deny us both

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Translation: they're against the police state that Britain has become

Either Britain has always been a police state or it is not one now.

[The Mikado]

Translation: they're against the police state that Britain has become

Either Britain has always been a police state or it is not one now.

Amazing post, Al.

Surprised you didn't go back to all the way to Peterloo.

[Democratic Hawk]

Translation: they're against the police state that Britain has become

Either Britain has always been a police state or it is not one now.

That was sickening

[Joe Republic]

I found this very useful:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8515961.stm#subject=key

Moreso than our resident 'experts' in this thread, anyway. 

[Democratic Hawk]

I found this very useful:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/election_2010/8515961.stm#subject=key

Moreso than our resident 'experts' in this thread, anyway.  

Makes no difference to me where they all stand, Joe. I'm politically restricted

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

So in a hung parliament, we're much more likely to see a Labour/Lib-Dem Coalition?

[Verily]

So in a hung parliament, we're much more likely to see a Labour/Lib-Dem Coalition?

At this point, I think we're more likely to see a Lib Dem/Labour coalition than a Labour/Lib Dem one. (If everything else--including party seat and vote totals--were equal, yes, but not if Labour is smaller than the Conservatives.)

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

So in a hung parliament, we're much more likely to see a Labour/Lib-Dem Coalition?

At this point, I think we're more likely to see a Lib Dem/Labour coalition than a Labour/Lib Dem one. (If everything else--including party seat and vote totals--were equal, yes, but not if Labour is smaller than the Conservatives.)

Clegg and Brown working together...now that's a sight to see...

[Verily]

So in a hung parliament, we're much more likely to see a Labour/Lib-Dem Coalition?

At this point, I think we're more likely to see a Lib Dem/Labour coalition than a Labour/Lib Dem one. (If everything else--including party seat and vote totals--were equal, yes, but not if Labour is smaller than the Conservatives.)

Clegg and Brown working together...now that's a sight to see...

Without Brown, of course. That should have been obvious; there is absolutely no chance of Brown being leader of the Labour Party after this election unless Labour is not in government.*

*Assuming, of course, that the chances of Labour winning more than ~310 seats are essentially nil, which I think is reasonable.

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

So in a hung parliament, we're much more likely to see a Labour/Lib-Dem Coalition?

At this point, I think we're more likely to see a Lib Dem/Labour coalition than a Labour/Lib Dem one. (If everything else--including party seat and vote totals--were equal, yes, but not if Labour is smaller than the Conservatives.)

Clegg and Brown working together...now that's a sight to see...

Without Brown, of course. That should have been obvious; there is absolutely no chance of Brown being leader of the Labour Party after this election unless Labour is not in government.*

*Assuming, of course, that the chances of Labour winning more than ~310 seats are essentially nil, which I think is reasonable.

So Clegg and whoever replaces Brown then.  At least it isn't Clegg and Cameron, which is a lot worse.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

It's very unlikely that the Labour Party would allow itself to be a junior partner in a coalition government, especially if it had more seats than the 'senior' partner. Actually, I suspect that constitutional structure of the Labour Party could upset a lot of calculations after the election, but we'll see.

[Verily]

It's very unlikely that the Labour Party would allow itself to be a junior partner in a coalition government, especially if it had more seats than the 'senior' partner. Actually, I suspect that constitutional structure of the Labour Party could upset a lot of calculations after the election, but we'll see.

Yes; my point was that it is more likely that the Lib Dems will win more seats than Labour than that Labour will win more votes than both the Lib Dems and the Conservatives, which I do not find a remotely unreasonable suggestion at this point.