If you can’t beat them, join them

I have positive reasons for placing my ballot cross where I intend to place it – and if you’re intrigued then a return visit later to this corner of the Blogosphere may well pay off.

In the meantime, I also have some very negative reasons for not placing my ballot cross next to the Lib Dem candidate.  I know that this may come across as hypocritical (especially since I’ve generally been a critic of negative campaigning).  However I am fed up with the Lib Dem promotions – which include adverts on Facebook encouraging people to “vote tactically to keep the Conservatives out” – that I feel the need to let off steam here and highlight the other side to the story.

I have already written here about the fact that the Lib Dem campaign in my constituency shows no evidence of the “real change” Nick Clegg has been spinning out to the TV cameras.  I had suspected that this constituency was no different to some of the others (after all, the Lib Dems were always fairly negative where I grew up) and my suspicions were confirmed in an email I received yesterday from someone in a Somerset constituency.

He wishes to point out, as I have done, that the Lib Dems are not all as they seem, and I quote:

“In our constituency, there are a number of Lib Dem activists stealing or vandalising Conservative placards which are in people’s gardens.  This is illegal, but is happening in Tory-Lib Dem marginal seats across the country, and in a number of areas, activists have been arrested.”

“In our constituency, the Conservatives agreed with the Liberal Democrats a number of dates for hustings (events where all the candidates answer questions from the public) in advance of the election campaign…However, the Liberal Democrats decided during the election campaign itself that they would give 2 – 3 days notice before holding another hustings event (specifically to discuss climate change), which the Conservatives could not attend because they had prior arrangements already lined up.  Now the Liberal Democrats are telling voters in our area that the Conservatives do not care about the environment.  This is a circulation of a dishonest fabrication.”

“Please do not believe Nick Clegg when he says he is just like you and me.  He says he never abused his parliamentary expenses, but he made a £300,000 profit on the taxpayer-funded house he owned as a Member of the European Parliament.  He accepted £3.5m from non-domiciled individuals for the Lib Dem treasury, despite criticising the Conservative donor Lord Ashcroft.  (I am obviously not condoning this behaviour, I am just trying to point out that Nick Clegg is not as squeaky clean as he would like us to think he was.)  He also comes from a wealthier background than David Cameron.  He is a career politician.”

Simon Cowell put it quite nicely when he announced his support for The Conservatives:

''We are not talent show judges picking pretty-sounding contestants now. The future government of our country is so much more important than that.''

Wise words indeed.