Tim Montgomerie is wrong to blame IDS’s failure on the Lib Dems
A letter to the Evening Standard:
Tim Montgomerie’s attempt (David Cameron must get back to work on broken Britain, 24 Aug 11) to paint the Liberal Democrats as roadblocks to change is misplaced. In his speech of 13 August, Nick Clegg identified three priorities for government social policy – “gang culture; failing families; a welfare system that traps too many in dependency” – and championed the coalition’s response, including the “radical welfare reform agenda.”
On the economic front, the Lib Dems have fully backed the essential deficit reduction programme, but more action is indeed needed to boost economic growth. The role of liberals in government should be to resist the Tories’ natural instincts to subsidise favoured industries, pick winners and intervene more, and to instead push for labour market reform, lower taxes and that bonfire of the regulatory vanities that both parties promised before the election.
There are always heated debates in Cabinet, whether the government is made up of one party or several. This creative tension at the heart of government is part of the genius of the British constitution. It is easy for Tory bloggers to point the finger of blame at their coalition partners, but if Iain Duncan Smith and Steve Hilton cannot convince their own Cabinet colleagues that their policies are correct, then what hope have they of persuading the wider public?
Tom Papworth, Director of Policy, Liberal Vision
It'll all be perfect once we're rid of Clegg, Clarke and those pesky Human Rights!"