Fishburn Hedges

08.06.2010

Less than two months after hosting an event promoting the inaugural TV leaders debate, Fishburn Hedges ‘What’s Next’ series welcomed a cross party panel to discuss the new political landscape forged in the weeks after May 6th.  Offering their insight on the prospects for the coalition were Mark Field (Conservative MP for Cities of London and Westminster), Alasdair Murray (Director of Liberal Democrat think tank Centre Forum) and Stephen Twigg (Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby)

Senior Conservative backbench MP Mark Field began by offering a candid assessment of the General Election result; arguing that despite the opinion polls there had been a prevailing expectation among many Conservatives that the party would win a majority.  In Field’s view, the eventual result came as a shock to the political class. With respect to the future of the coalition, Field argued that the Government’s priority must be to address the structural problems besetting the economy and focus on a viable austerity message.  He added that by collectively shying away from spelling out cuts during the election campaign, it could be argued that no party had been given a mandate to preside over a serious policy of fiscal tightening.

Following Mark Field, Stephen Twigg began with a throwaway joke that he was more positive about the coalition than his co-panellist.  Re-elected to Parliament following a five year absence, Stephen Twigg now has one of the safest Labour seats in the country and is likely to be an influential voice for years to come.  He echoed Mark Field’s election analysis, arguing that the Labour vote had shown significant resilience considering that the party had been third in the opinion polls for much of the campaign.  That said, Twigg said it was vital that the Labour party did not become ‘complacent in defeat’.  He welcomed the early indications that the leadership election will not drag the party to the left, but said to sit back and assume that the coalition will fail would be a fundamental error.  For Twigg the challenge for the Labour party is that they become an ‘intelligent opposition’, selective in how they criticise the coalition and being equally vocal about points of agreement.  On the issue of electoral reform, Twigg classed himself as being in a minority within the Labour party who would campaign for the Alternative Vote in any future referendum on the issue.

As a think tank Director and ex-Parliamentary candidate (contested Bournemouth West on May 6th) Murray agreed that the strong Labour performance was the untold stories of the General Election.  He cited Oxford East as an example of a seat which the Liberal Democrats had expected to fall, but stayed in the Labour camp owing to an effective local party organisation.  Murray argued it was evident that the coalition presents both threats and opportunities to the Liberal Democrats, with the greatest threat potentially emerging from foreign policy.  For Murray, events in the Middle East or Iran had the greatest potential to split the two parties as Conservative and Liberal Democrat instincts were most sharply opposed in this space.  In terms of opportunities, he identified having a place in government as being essential in combating the argument that a vote for the Liberal Democrats would be wasted.  He added that if the Liberal Democrats are successful in raising the tax threshold to £10,000 that was a signature policy that could be positively sold in any future campaign.