Nick Tyrone Nick Tyrone

Layla Moran will kill off the Lib Dems. But I still want her to win

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Make no mistake: Layla Moran’s Lib Dem leadership platform is terrible. She wants to scrap Ofsted, stop publishing league tables of schools and call time on SATs for primary school kids. These policies are so bad that as a parent of three I would have to seriously think about leaving the country if Layla was ever put in charge of our education system. These policies slide in well with the rest of the platform, which is a blancmange of green-flavoured leftist material. Layla herself summarises it beautifully in one sentence: ‘We need an economy that puts the environment and people’s well-being first’. Moran’s politics is totally disconnected from the concerns of parents and many ordinary people.

Having said all that, I am still rooting for her to beat Ed Davey and become the next leader of the Lib Dems. Why? Given my connection to the Orange Book tradition within the Lib Dems, this may come as a surprise to some. But I believe my reasoning here to be sound: I want Layla to win so that I can finally write off the Lib Dems and move on with my life. If Layla becomes the Lib Dem leader, I will be able to completely turn my back on the party, which will come as a relief.

If Ed Davey gets the job instead, I will still be stuck in a sort of Lib Dem purgatory. I agree with Ed on a lot more than I do Layla; I know part of me will find it difficult not to cheer him on a little if he became leader. Yet I also know two things. One, Ed isn’t good enough to make the Lib Dems nationally relevant again. I’m sorry to say this, but it’s true. 

And two, given the evolution of his platform over the course of this torturously elongated leadership contest, Ed has shown how scared he is of the left of the party.

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Nick Tyrone
Written by
Nick Tyrone
Nick Tyrone is a former director of CentreForum, described as 'the closest thing the Liberal Democrats have had to a think tank'. He is author of several books including 'Politics is Murder'

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