UNISONActive is an unofficial blog produced by UNISON activists for UNISON activists. Bringing news, briefings and events from a progressive left perspective.

Tuesday 21 September 2010

Pious platitudes from the makeweight Liberal Democrats‏

Which minority political party has only 60 000 members; secured only 23 % of the popular vote and a reduced number of MP’s in the 2010 General Election and in the 2009 European elections trailed in 4th after UKIP with only 13.7% of the vote?

The Liberal Democrats, of course, who now bolster a Tory dominated Coalition Government hell bent on an austerity programme which will decimate public services in the UK. And today public service workers had to endure pious platitudes from its leader, ex-student Tory Nick Clegg:

“The destination is the right one but getting there is going to be hard. To those thousands of people who work in the public sector, who do such an outstanding job in our schools, hospitals, police forces and local councils, I say this: I know these are very unsettling times for you. I will not disguise the fact that we need to take difficult decisions today to ensure there are good, affordable public services tomorrow.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/20/nick-clegg-speech-liberal-democrat

Workers in Liberal Democrat led Councils (usually in coalition with Tories) know all about the so called ‘difficult decisions’ which lead to job cuts and privatisation. An easy decision for all trade unionists next May will be mobilising for the removal of the Tory mini-me’s from elected bodies at all levels of local government and in devolved administrations across the UK.