Quote:
Originally Posted by chezlaw
May have missed that. I like this quote which is so relevant for most people when it comes to politics.
I mean
"Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion"
That's fine but if it trumped the last manifesto why bother with a manifesto this time?
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezlaw
One thing that has already paid of from a left wing opposition is a considerable shift in the center on social polices. Boris & co are offering less but far more than they would be if labour wasn't now setting the pace on housing, health etc etc. This is one of the things I very much wanted to see. We've let the right wing set the agenda for far too long with the triumph of thatcherism, and I see it as a success if we make serious inroads into that over the next decade or so.
It's true that you can be effective from opposition (for example it's said that almost the entire first Green Party manifesto has now been implemented). Lembit Opik said once that he was always really pleased if the other parties stole policies from the Liberal Democrats because that's the most likely way to get them implemented. On the other hand, the first term of the Blair government implemented some progressive policies which are now part of generally agreed policy, such as the minimum wage and devolution - so you can do things from that position too.