Rare drama at the LibDem Bournemouth snoozefest this afternoon as NIMBYs and YIMBYs go to battle over Ed Davey’s plan to scrap housing targets and woo South East voters from their natural Tory allegiances. Close eyes on Dorries’ Mid Bedfordshire…
Tim Farron was rolled out to give an impassioned attack on the yoof wing of his party for proposing to restore the 380,000 a year target, decrying the proposal as “pure Thatcherism“. He blasted the libertarian zealots in charge of the Young Liberals: “This is the most right-wing thing that I’ve seen at party conference since we sent Liz Truss off to go and work undercover“. Guido commends the man who has spent his “life fighting Thatcherism” for taking the torch to evil anarcho-capitalist housing goals. The only regret is that his mic was cut off before he could finish…
A pro-housing speaker noted that the LibDems took on national targets two years ago and asked: “Tim, were we Thatcherites then?” Some young members are seen wearing T-shirts with the shocking slogan “Build More Bloody Houses.” Other speakers bravely stood against the rebels on the grounds that building that many houses is “much more complicated” than it seems. Expert contributions to the housing debate we’ve all been waiting for…
UPDATE: The housing targets amendment and the motion have both been passed. Ed Davey defeated by Thatcherite youth at his own party conference…
The LibDems have cut out the middle man and are now trying to pump their cr*p directly into the homes of voters. This week they’re insisting the government should force water companies to simply “switch off” storm overflows over the weekend, with Tim Farron appearing on BBC Breakfast to sell this genius idea to the public. All they need to do is “ban sewage discharges” for a few days. The beaches will be cleaner, and the country will be happier.
The only problem with this, as even Naga Munchetty repeatedly told Farron, is this isn’t possible. Unless the LibDems would rather see tonnes of sewage pumped directly into voters’ bathrooms, or causing pipes to burst in the street. This morning DEFRA released a statement pooh-poohing the idea:
“Storm overflows are an automatic safety valve that release excess pressure on the network. This prevents sewage backing up into properties and stops widespread mains pipe bursts across the country. This is a reckless suggestion that risks the safety of homes and businesses.”
A government source added:
“We’re used to the LibDems making-up ridiculous policy but this is the most dangerous one yet. It would mean people spending their bank holiday with sewage backing up through their toilets.”
A total stinker…
In response to the news that Emily Thornberry described the Lib Dems as “like the Taliban” over their new revoke Article 50 Brexit policy, the former Lib Dem leader responded:
“Come on Emily, if we really were like a Middle East terrorist group, don’t you think Jeremy would’ve invited us to a conference fringe meeting before now?”
What is the point of the LibDems? Last night Vince Cable and Tim Farron missed the vote on the key Brexit amendment. Cable was at a “confidential meeting” elsewhere and Farron was giving a talk in Dorset about evangelism. If they’d bothered to turn up the government’s majority would have been just one. Vince is briefing out that his absence was “cleared by the party chief whip”, while Faz has told the Guardian “I was authorised to be absent”. Both rather cruelly dumping on Alistair Carmichael for the cock up rather than take responsibility for themselves. Carmichael says sorry:
“Last night I messed up. The government squeaked home by just 3 votes in a key amendment. It should have been 1. I was not expecting a close vote – up until 8pm Labour were planning to abstain which would have meant the vote would be lost by hundreds. In fact several Labour MPs voted with the government- which is why they won. By the time it became apparent that the vote was going to be close – it was too late to get two of our MPs back in time to vote. I’m taking responsibility and redoubling my efforts to stop Brexit.”
Is there any party in Westminster that isn’t a total shambles?
Tim Farron, still the leader of the Liberal Democrats remember, has gone full Westboro Baptist Church and compared himself to a North Korean dissident, mocking other faiths with “funky garb” with “interesting buildings”. He’s basically saying he’s a modern day Jesus, the victim of religious persecution. Get out the tiny violin…
“Christians do feel marginalised, and they are meant to… the Bible tells us regularly that our faith will go against the grain, that we’ll suffer for being a Christian. Being Christian is not meant to be easy. The writer of Philippians says “it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him”.
Now, being harangued by journalists or slagged off by political opponents for my faith, hardly compares with the struggles of being a Christian in North Korea, where you have a one in four chance of being imprisoned for your faith. But the point is that Christian faith will go against the grain, if you aren’t struggling at least a bit against the expectations and assumptions of the world- then well, you should be!…
My own experience during the election tells me that people don’t mind people of faith in politics – so long as their faith is only of the cultural variety. So, if you wear funky garb, have nice colourful festivals, have interesting buildings and ceremonies, then we are absolutely fine about your faith – in fact your religious culture makes us more diverse and allows me to define myself as very liberal and tolerant by demonstrating how cool I am with your religion. However the moment you show any signs of actually believing in this creed, of thinking that this stuff about Jesus might even be true or that this faith might in any way impact on your conscience or your life choices… well, we don’t like that one bit.”
Tim, you had to deal with a few questions about thinking gays are sinners, not Judas and Pontius Pilate. If your faith and politics are incompatible you are not a persecuted Christian. You are in the wrong party.
Tim Farron is resigning as LibDem leader, “I have found myself torn, living as a faithful Christian and leading a political party in the current environment…” Seems a private commitment to Christian values is incompatible with modern liberal values. How intolerant.
Expect it to be Swinson versus Cable or Davey for next leader…
