Comment: How long until we catch up with Simon Hughes?
Simon Hughes’ stint as deputy Lib Dem leader reveals the tactic the party will use to recover its support.
By Ian Dunt
In my more narcissistic moments, I imagine how pleasant it must be for Simon Hughes, whose every utterance prompts over-excited headlines about the end of the government. Maybe I’m alone in wishing my comments could end governments with such ease, but I doubt it.
The latest bout of media frenzy came when Hughes distanced himself from David Cameron’s comments about social housing. “It’s a prime ministerial idea, it has no more validity yet, and I think our party would need a lot of persuading that it has merit or could work and that’s something clearly if he wants us to talk about we’re happy to talk about,” Hughes said. With so little hard political news around in the summer, journalists leapt on it with drooling headlines about government fractures, coalition splits and the impending doom of all concerned.
But there was no silly season excuse the last time this happened, again on Radio 4’s World at One (something about the programme plainly encourages him). Hughes made the simple point that the Lib Dems knew the coalition path would not be an easy one. “We always knew that the coalition deal was a high-risk exercise….We have now to make sure that our particular policy is worked on, pronounced and announced and obvious to people.”
Once the noise dies down, it’s clear that Hughes is fulfilling two different and essential tasks for his party. First, his expression of a distinct Lib Dem policy brief, as is evident by his comments on social housing. Second, his expression of a distinct Lib Dem identity, as is evident from his comments about the risks of coalition and the way he puts himself across in media appearances.
As things stand, the Lib Dems are at a seemingly calamitous disadvantage. As the dominant partner, the Tories are hovering up warm sentiments towards to the government. Meanwhile, the Lib Dems are seeing their left wing vote flee to Labour in advance of the public spending cuts to come, while one-issue voters – which many of the students who vote Lib Dem effectively are – watch nervously to see if it’s in their interest to do so again. This is happening due to an entanglement of Lib Dem and Tory policies.
There are solid nuggets of Lib Dem achievement, such as the speedy passage of Clegg’s constitutional and civil liberty reforms, and important victories like the demise of Contactpoint and the ending of child detention in immigration centres. Meanwhile, the deficit reduction plan’s position as the main thrust of the coalition’s legislative agenda is evidently popular among voters, for the time being at least. It is viewed as a Tory policy, and for good reason: the Lib Dems opposed it during the election campaign. But there are serious mistakes being made where the Lib Dems have no role. Michael Gove has been staggeringly inept at the Department for Education, not just by releasing inaccurate lists of cancelled school improvements but also by pretending signing up to a mailing list is a firm expression of interest. Andrew Lansley’s NHS reforms will quickly become unacceptable to the public when they realise what’s happening, and Jeremy Hunt’s work in the Department of Culture, Media and Sport – where there are no Lib Dem ministers at all – will likely prove far more controversial and painful than many have predicted.
Those with an interest in politics can tell them apart, but for many people everything is jumbled together. Lib Dem activities in government are actually no less popular than Tory activities, but the smaller party must act quickly to prevent it being associated with the bad and ignored during the good.
Hughes’ plain speaking achieves precisely what the party needs: a distinct policy agenda and identity. He must disentangle Lib Dem policies from those of the Tories while not openly attacking his party’s partner. This maximises the gain of Lib Dem achievements, limits the damage of Tory mistakes, and helps prevent toxification of the brand in the eyes of left wing voters due to the party’s association with the cuts agenda.
It is a task to which Hughes has equipped himself well. The media still reacts in its traditional manner of course, by screaming of fault lines and political earthquakes. In fact, Hughes’ comments are exactly what you would expect from a coalition government in a country which is unaccustomed to them. We knew there would be disagreements, particularly over off-the-cuff comments, such as Cameron’s quote on social housing during a ‘PM direct’ meeting. They can be easily worked out without us all losing our cool. They do not entail the collapse of the coalition.
Nick Clegg and Cameron must maintain an almost robotic unity for the coalition to appear coherent. Lib Dem Cabinet secretaries are bound by collective responsibility, as is evident by the way that Vince Cable is losing the will to live. Hughes is able to do his job so well because none of this applies to him. Clegg must receive the credit for this. He was wise enough to realise that a leftie was needed when Cable packed in the job. Despite his own more right-wing tendencies, Clegg was sensible enough to get a man more in tune with the party’s heart and head.
There is no reason for the Lib Dems to panic about their poll ratings. The public remains volatile and fickle. Clegg’s approval ratings currently stand at eight per cent. That’s down from 72% in April. It sounds horrific, but it can be reversed as easily as it occurred. A prolonged moment of unity was required for the public to believe a coalition could be maintained. Now the party can start to express itself without the public assuming the coalition will fall apart, starting at its conference next month.
The Lib Dems will need the space to celebrate their record on constitutional reform, AV and civil liberties in 2015. Hughes is trying to lay the groundwork for that narrative. Britain – and journalists in particular – just need to catch up with him.
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