Liberal Vision

“You’re not going that way, fascist”

The UKIP MP and libertarian, Douglas Carswell got caught up in an anti-austerity demonstration earlier this evening. The mob, and that is the only way to describe the deal marathons, were verbally violent and threatened physical violence. The police had to rescue Carswell from their clutches.

When Police officers tried to take Carswell through St James’s Park tube station, one demonstrator is filmed saying, “you’re not going that way fascist”.

For decades those on the  centre right have been labelled as fascists by the Left. What the proponents of State control, and at times violent destruction of their opponents, have forgotten is that fascism had its origins in socialism. It is about time that the Left admitted the connection. It is wrong to call someone a fascist whose beliefs are the exact opposite. It is worse to use the term when you are adopting the very tactics that fascists would happily embrace.

A General Election fought on fear

It is clear that many in the Labour Party, and some Liberal Democrats, believe that the Conservative waged a fear campaign during the General Election. Putting to one side the accuracy of this view, and whether one should have been scared of a SNP supported Labour government, something has been missing from the discussion.

Fear was used in the General Election campaign and it was used by the Labour Party. Ed Miliband repeatedly told the voters that they had days to save the NHS. Coming from the party that introduced more private suppliers to the public service this is perverse at best and downright misleading at worse. The fear tactic didn’t work and we still have a National Health Service. No doubt when the Tories leave office we still will.