The Electorate Fragments. What Does This Mean for the LibDems?

There has been some soul searching in the party based on recent results.

Before getting into that it is clear the electorate has fragmented, and in such a multi-party model the ceiling any party can reach will be lower than before. And the floor will also be lower as alternatives exist. Therefore, as a party, our expectations need to shift.

Are our core values persuasive?

But it feels like our party has no distinctive vision for change in the country. Our values include: Equality, Democracy, Community, Human Rights, Internationalism, Environmentalism. Many of those can be seen as the status quo, which doesn’t lend itself to a message of change. None truly make us unique.

Liberty is our USP

But the other one does – Liberty. The harm principle. That belongs to no other party. If a unique selling point is needed now to portray who you are compared to others – the party needs to bring it to the forefront of communication. Of policy making.

And to fight on a front of both positive and negative liberty, the freedom to and freedom from.

When making policy – sell every policy as freedom to or freedom from something.

Strategy

As much as a vision is needed for the party – we are one actor among many in the political space. People vote for a party for complex reasons. They know that politics is about compromise and they don’t trust any party to act in their interests.

It comes back to the three-compromise problem:

• Voters – you don’t align with them fully, but they back you tactically
• Conference – you pass policies to help attract key voters in areas you want to win
• MPs – you compromise in the house or in a coalition to govern and pass legislation

Reform is the big threat

The argument for greater compromise to defeat Reform isn’t hard to make to most in the party. Who wants Farage as Prime Minister?

At the moment it appears that we are content with being the second preference of many, allowing tactical voters to feel fine voting for us.

This allows us to stay where we are, but it doesn’t help us break into new areas.

There is unhappiness with leadership – but there is always a trade off in making choices. We believe we can get better results. But can we get better results with the policies we have with the electorate as it is?

Is Davey playing the hand dealt by Conference as best he can?

Does the party have a strategy for securing media coverage beyond stunts?

Do viewers remember the policy being highlighted or just remember the stunt?

Does the party have survey research that supports the current strategy?

MPs vs Conference

The party passes key policies at Conference – in theory. Is Conference representative of our membership? Or of who we see as our core voters? Is it time to review this model?

Does the leadership adhere to Conference decisions anyway? 

Technology allows for online voting and viewing. It could also facilitate the creation of an online forum exclusively for members. Would this be more representative than existing Facebook groups?

Would the addition of one or two exclusively online conferences to pass policy allow more policy ideas from members to be tested?