The Liberal Democrat manifesto is either the last hurrah for redistributive politics in Britain – or signals its comeback. At its launch on Monday, the Lib Dems proposed taxing the super-rich, frequent flyers and banks, and using the proceeds to pay for the NHS, schools and international development. This is the right thing to do. If we want the country’s resources put to better use then part of the answer lies in reining in the wealthiest people in the country.
Some may argue that whatever the Lib Dems say is irrelevant, as the party is not going to be in power on 5 July. That misses the point. The Lib Dems can act as a driver of change in British politics, influencing the agenda of the country without necessarily being the political party that benefits most from the change. With the budget deficit at 6% and persistent post-Covid labour shortages, tax increases are needed to reduce wasteful consumption by the rich and allow room for socially useful spending. While experts can quibble about the amounts raised, Sir Ed Davey has done the public a favour by clarifying who would lose out and who would gain under his party’s proposals.
He hopes to capture the national mood with his principled stand. The portents are good. Sir Ed has made headlines with a series of stunts that piqued voters’ interest in the Lib Dems. His team then produced the best party political broadcast of this election – foregrounding Sir Ed’s remarkable role as a carer to his mother and his son – and put social care on to the agenda. In the last election, the Lib Dems’ part in cutting public services was a persistent political sore and repelled some of the voters that the party needed. Sir Ed’s stint as climate secretary in the coalition government could have been a liability. But he, so far, has proved to be an electoral asset.
The party has not completely dressed up in leftwing garb. The party’s intellectual tradition is that of social liberalism. This is evident in its welcome proposals to end “hostile environment” immigration policies, scrap the “unworkable” Rwanda scheme, and lift the ban on asylum seekers working. Reaching net zero by 2045, five years early, is ambitious. Less agreeable is the blunt proposal to cap all big political donations without distinguishing between corporate donors and democratic trade unions.
The party remains radical in its constitutional outlook: pledging to introduce electoral reform and citizens’ assemblies. It is heartening that the Lib Dems have the decency to break the omertà of Brexit, saying the party would, in time, seek to rejoin the EU single market.
The Lib Dems have about 50 seats in the Conservatives’ “blue wall” in their sights – and the political winds are blowing in the party’s favour. However, to achieve a breakthrough in the Tory stronghold of southern England requires the party to secure the support of both disillusioned one-nation Tories and Labour voters. Given the choice between Sir Ed’s pitch and an exhausted Conservative party, voters in those seats where Labour cannot realistically win should seriously consider casting their ballot for the Lib Dems.
