Former Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown appeared before the inquisition of the host on The Andy Marr Show (tm) last Sunday to let the viewers know about More United, which describes itself as “a tech-driven political startup created to give a voice to the millions of open, tolerant people in Britain who feel the political system doesn’t speak for them anymore”. It is supported by people from across the political spectrum.
But while they talk of “using the power of the Internet to transform the way politics is funded, making it easier for moderate, progressive MPs to get elected and creating a new centre of political gravity in the UK”, More United stress that “We are not a political party and we won't stand candidates in elections. Instead we will drive change by giving financial and human resource to candidates, from all parties and none, who formally commit to support our principles”. This is not difficult to understand.
Or rather, it can be difficult to understand if you are the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog, whose right-wing paymasters have clearly decided that More United has to be taken out before it can do anything like, er, drive the change that is clearly part of its modus operandi. So out has come the smearing iron.
“‘Non-Partisan’ More United Is Lib Dem Front Group” declared the Fawkes massive this morning, to the clear surprise of those allied to this group who are not Lib Dems, or indeed allied to any political party. The Great Guido goes on to ask “who is working More United behind the scenes?” Er, probably those we know about. But do go on.
“Well, top LibDem Paddy Ashdown is a director. As is Elizabeth Mayhew, Nick Clegg’s former correspondence secretary. Then there is LibDem peer Rumi Verjee. And former LibDem press officer Debbie Gore and HQ staffer Austin Rathe. As well as former LibDem candidate Maajid Nawaz and one time LibDem supporter Sunny Hundal”. And to that I call bullshit. My good friend Sunny Hundal is definitely not a Lib Dem, and indeed has been helping out recently with Political Scrapbook, which is also definitely not Lib Dem.
It gets worse: while the Fawkes rabble moan that “Celeb backers include the most frightful bores like Dan Snow and Caroline Criado-Perez”, they aren’t Lib Dems either. Nor is Jonathon Porritt, who is from the Green Party. Nor is Martha Lane Fox, who has worked for the Cameron Government and sits in the Lords as a cross-bencher. Nor is Simon Schama, who is a supporter of the Labour Party.
So when The Great Guido sniggers “What a surprise that this collection of metropolitan losers masquerading as a non-partisan political movement is just a front group for tired old LibDems”, they are not only talking out of the backs of their necks, they are just plain jealous that some of the country’s more upwardly mobile movers and shakers have joined a movement over which they have no leverage.
More United is a bold idea. It may or may not work. But what it is not is a front for the Lib Dems, or indeed any other party. So that’s the usual Fawkes level of accuracy. Another fine mess, once again.
Enter Paddy Pantsdown to lecture us on what’s right and wrong.
ReplyDeletePrimarily of course “What’s right” is what he says it is. Which in a normal democratic world (which we don’t have thanks to the likes of Pantsdown) would entail a comprehensive set of proposals.
Instead, this is what Pantsdown offers: http://www.moreunited.uk/beliefs.........All of which actually means sweet FA without a consensual constitution. Anyone’d think dear old failed Paddy would have learned that basic common sense from the Chartists.
You can see what he’s up to here: Cast a sprat to catch a mackerel, or, if you’re lucky, even a shark or two. It might work too with at least some gullible mackerels. Particularly of the LibDem “persuasion” – you know, like those who made such a great “success” of the last election, helped along the way by the other “success story” of far right New Labour.
But he falls massively at the first fence, perhaps never to get up again, when he refers to a “...fair, modern, efficient market-based economy...” – In other words, more of the same MBA thieving bullshit that lied its way to power over the last generation. He can squirm with weasel words as much as he likes but that kind of economy can never be “fair” or “efficient” because both adjectives are precisely opposed to the profit motive and thus to any notion of a decent society. The rest of the “principles” can’t even approach the other fences because of it.
It is of course nothing more than yet another failed attempt to create a so-called “middle ground” party similar to that load of witless old fishheads, the SDP. And to help weaken the Labour Party.
Pantsdown has never been noted for having any principles worth the name. Which is why this latest bucket of rotting tripe will sooner rather than later tip over of its own accord.
As for Paddy, he best report to the nearest retirement home now if this is the best he can do. For his sake I hope he finds his pants there.
Fawkes?......Equally pffftttt.
Did I miss something? Has the House of Commons abandoned the whip system? Because I can't see all parties in the House all following the principles of an external funding group. What happens when a candidate who has taken the More United shilling and got elected is expected to vote along party lines for something that goes against the principles s/he was funded to support?
ReplyDeleteSounds like the United Friends of Blair club to me. Let's form another SDP and recover the lost (again) Liberals.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid you're wrong there, Tim. It is a lib dem front. Even Guido can be right occasionally.
ReplyDeleteMore United is listed in the companies register. Their registration number is given at the bottom of the website that is so obviously built with nation builder. Go and look at the documents submitted to register the company. The founding members are all LDs, including Austin Rather (not listed in the cleb section as a supporter) who used to head up membership thingies at LD headquarters. He left last November to unnamed 'pastures new'. Other two are Paddy himself and the lady who was a secretary at LD headquarters.
More United is, quite simply, a cack-handed attempt by the LDs to try and create an LD grass-roots movement by astro-turfing one from the top, spectacularly missing the whole point of what a grass-roots movement is.
It proposes 'reasonable' principles because we are all 'reasonable' people who are fed up with these extremists, but in fact it's all rather empty, unaccountable, unmeasurable high-minded fluff and as empty as a meeting of the LD faithful.
I'd like to bet you a considerable sum of money that the politicians that they 'endorse' are all LDs and the right-wing of the Labour Party.