Linkblogging
As I’ve been too busy with “proper” writing to come up with any blog posts, here are some links instead:
- Andrew Hickey and Mat Bowles explain why you should vote Lib Dem in the general election and how it can make a difference. The short answer is: electoral reform. No other problems can get fixed until our awful electoral system gets fixed. The Lib Dems are the only party with the means, motive and opportunity to do it.
- If you’re not from the UK and don’t understand why we’re getting so excited about the election, Debi Linton explains it all.
- Brett Holman at Airminded looks at the influence of the Boer War on air power history, which is more relevant than you might think.
- Nick Poyntz at Mercurius Politicus has had an article published in Midland History about a “crowd action” in Cirencester at the start of the English Civil War, and has posted an open access version for anyone to read. (Personally I prefer to call these things riots because it sounds cooler. Can you imagine Joe Strummer singing about a “white crowd action”? Would Sleater Kinney have been as good if they were crowd action grrrls?)
- The Common Swings is an indescribably odd and brilliant comic/fanzine written and drawn by Chris Browning. You should find something in it to amuse you if you like Viv Stanshall, Absolutely, vintage crime novels, H. P. Lovecraft or old railway posters advertising trips to dull seaside towns. You can order a print on demand version from Lulu or a hand made version direct from the author.
Comment by Nick — 7:52 pm, 20 April 2010 [permanent link to this comment]
Thank you for the plug and the kind comment. I am following John Walter and Andy Wood in the choice of the phrase “crowd action” (“riot” is often associated with a view of the crowd as monolithic and/or mindless). But I agree it’s a rather clunky phrase!
Comment by Gavin Robinson — 12:16 pm, 21 April 2010 [permanent link to this comment]
I can see why they do that but it has the side effect of implying that they’re making or agreeing with a value judgement that rioting is a bad thing. But the word riot will always have negative connotations for some readers regardless of the author’s intentions. There’s no neutral way of talking about anything (and even not talking about something is taking a position).
Comment by Trevor DeMont — 4:04 pm, 6 May 2010 [permanent link to this comment]
Aren’t you concerned that the Lib Dems would push through big tax increases, though? In a time of economic hardship, that’s the last thing you want to do, I’d think.
I can definitely understand the frustration that many people feel toward Labour and the Tories, but I would be terrified of Lib Dem economic policies, personally.
Comment by Gavin Robinson — 4:40 pm, 6 May 2010 [permanent link to this comment]
For me Lib Dem policy would result in a big tax cut. Their plan to raise the tax threshold to £10,000 would have meant that my self-employed income in the last 2 tax years was tax free, saving me nearly £1,000. Their tax increases would mainly hit the very rich, and I don’t buy macro-economic arguments that this would be bad for growth. At the very least it wouldn’t be any worse. Labour have been running the economy for 13 years, and the Tories were running it for 18 years before that. Both failed to deliver the growth and stability they promised. The Lib Dems would put the Treasury in the hands of someone much better qualified in economics than his Labour and Tory predecessors.
Comment by Trevor DeMont — 4:18 am, 7 May 2010 [permanent link to this comment]
I’m surprised the Liberal Democrats did so badly. I guess swing voters were flirting with the Lib Dems, but once they got in the voting booth they returned to their traditional party leanings.
The Liberal Democrats have to be absolutely devastasted, given the high expectations they had.
Comment by Gavin Robinson — 10:24 am, 8 May 2010 [permanent link to this comment]
I think the Lib Dems have underestimated the power of ideology (in the Marxist sense). Lots of people probably vote Labour or Tory out have habit without really thinking about it. Ordinary Tory voters are in denial about how Tory policies hurt them to benefit the rich and privileged. Labour voters are in denial about how right-wing Labour has become. Lib Dem activists are in denial about how far false beliefs can lead people to act against their own best interests. Basically the liberal model of “human nature” is seriously flawed.
But I’m still going to support the Lib Dems as long as they don’t screw up negotiations with the Tories. They’re still our best hope for radical transformation. As I said above, getting PR is a vital precondition for any other kind of transformation, and with the hung parliament the Lib Dems are in a position to get it as long as they’re tough negotiators. They need to be prepared to crack heads and break balls in a way that Obama so far hasn’t been.
Comment by Trevor DeMont — 7:02 pm, 8 May 2010 [permanent link to this comment]
I think there’s some common ground between the Tories and the Lib Dems on a few issues, especially when it comes to spending cuts and the economy. So if they’re going to become coalition partners, they need to focus on that common ground, and set aside areas of large differences until the next election. It’s hard to see major electoral reform passing in the near future though, given how there clearly wasn’t a mandate for such change in this week’s election.
There’s definitely some truth to your Obama analogy. His problem (during his first year in office) was largely due to an ignorance of the way Washington works. I think he’s learned a few lessons though, and he’s gotten a bit tougher recently. Hillary Clinton (in retrospect) would have been a more effective President in her first year, in my opinion. Whether she could have gotten elected is another question.
And you’re definitely right about some people just voting Tory or Labour out of habit. A lot of people are like that, unfortunately. These parties need to win us over….they shouldn’t just take people’s votes for granted. Unfortunately a lot of voters are like sheep, in that way. They see themselves as servants of the party, rather than vice versa.