Letter: Why Vote For a Party That Wants to Avoid Leadership?

Published on: 10 Apr, 2021
Updated on: 13 Apr, 2021

From: Paul Spooner

In response to: Surrey Can’t Afford Four More Years Of Tory Misrule, Say Lib Dems

The usual anti-Tory nonsense from the Lib Dems. When they won power in Guildford, the Tory group supported the former Lib Dem group leader in the leadership election because the alternative was a R4GV councillor with, at the time, five minutes’ experience in local government.

But then the Lib Dems just handed power over to another party because things got too tricky; real leadership was required and difficult decisions had to be made.

What sense is there in voting for a party that just wants to oppose and avoids leadership?

I am also confused by the Green Party alliance with Lib Dems. The sole Green Party councillor in Guildford is a member of the R4GV Group, so even she doesn’t trust her own party’s deal with the Lib Dems.

I assume any Green member elected will join a R4GV Group (if there is one at SCC) or is the incumbent going to join Lib Dems? Never a dull moment.

Not surprisingly, residents question the negative campaigning. Perhaps the Lib Dems could actually say what they would be doing if they decided to stay in power if given the democratic mandate? Preferably, realistic and achievable goals.

Responses to Letter: Why Vote For a Party That Wants to Avoid Leadership?

George Potter Reply

April 10, 2021 at 8:54 pm

Perhaps Cllr Spooner is unaware, although he should be, that Green county councillors sit in a joint group with the Liberal Democrats at County Hall.

This collaboration should come as no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to the goings-on there.

It is, however, unfortunate to see that the Conservatives continue to attempt to paint any scrutiny of their record as “negative campaigning”. Have they instead considered doing a better job so that opposition parties have less to criticise?

Now there’s a thought…

George Potter is the Lib Dem candidate for Guildford east in the forthcoming SCC election.
Sam Peters Reply

April 10, 2021 at 9:03 pm

The Green Party and the Lib Dems standing down for each other isn’t particularly hard to understand. The issue is our wildly unrepresentative voting system.

Under first past the post, we have not had a government elected with more than 50% of the vote since 1935 – in effect, the party in government is almost always the one that the majority of people did not vote for. The large majority of votes are essentially wasted. It’s no wonder that turnout – and political engagement – is so low when so many people know their vote is effectively useless.

To a lesser degree, this is also the case at local elections – particularly with the even lower turnout rates. It makes perfect sense for progressive parties to avoid splitting the vote so that residents can actually have the ability to vote for real change.

Movements like Compass and the South East Climate Alliance, which create sets of policies which progressive candidates from various parties can sign up for, help with this and have been enormously successful – as we’ve seen most recently across Waverley, with safe Conservative councils being overturned by collaboration between Greens, Lib Dems and others. In just a few short years, these councillors have had enormous success on everything from traffic to climate to over-development, actually listening to residents, working together, and taking the urgent action needed on these and more issues.

Is that the reason the Conservatives are so desperate to attack the concept of collaboration? And indeed, so keen to stifle local democracy completely, with the failed attempt to bring in a single unitary authority for 1.2 million Surrey residents, which has surely just been moved onto the back burner until after the local elections following the enormous public outcry it generated?

Sam Peters is the Green party candidate for Shere in the forthcoming SCC election
- Paul Spooner Reply
  
  April 15, 2021 at 9:33 am
  
  Why do so many of these posts have Liberal Democrats logo on them? Hmm?
  
  Paul Spooner is the Conservative borough councillor for Ash South and Tongham
  
  Editor’s response: Images attached to letters are usually those that come from the original article to which the letter, or trail, is responding.
Mark Bray-Parry Reply

April 10, 2021 at 9:27 pm

I am happy to help Paul Spooner regarding the Green Party.

Diana Jones was able to make an independent choice as to which group she would join based on which group she felt would allow her to best represent her Tillingborne residents. The Local Party then made a separate arrangement with the Lib Dems that would see the progressive Party with the best chance in winning the seat stand, a sad necessity under the anti-democratic first-past-the-post electoral system supported by Tories and Labour. Residents will now have a clear progressive and environmentally-conscious candidate in all divisions and wards to vote for.

As for the rest of this letter, “Preferably, realistic and achievable goals…” Wasn’t it the Tories that pushed through the Local Plan before the election knowing how unpopular it was, then continually state how any revision would increase housing numbers, only to completely U-turn in the run-up to the SCC elections?

Excuse me (and every other voter) for thinking this is just electioneering. Treating voters with such contempt will not fare well for Conservatives (whichever part of that fractured group Mr Spooner belongs to now). Never a dull moment, eh).

Mark Bray-Parry was the Parliamentary candidate for the Green Party at the 2019 general election
RWL Davies Reply

April 11, 2021 at 6:29 am

Fair points, negative campaigning invariably indicates weakness and no coherent strategy.