Clegg’s publicity catastrophe threatens Lib Dems

As ‘Britain’s Third Party’ the Liberal Democrats have historically been seen as disorganised, impractical and idealistic. Now though, under the rousing leadership of Nick Clegg and in the run up to a decisive General Election, the party’s image has undergone a drastic transformation. Today, the Liberal Democrats are seen as disorganised, impractical and grimly realistic. For a party whose demographic of voters is made up largely of students this is quite a political gamble.

Of course, as a result of the ongoing recession the need for realistic discussion as opposed to utopian forecasting has affected all of the major parties. Whoever comes to power this summer they will do so with the status of repairmen and rebuilders, not progressive visionaries. What is so striking, however, is that it is the Liberal Democrats who seem to have adopted this mentality the most fervently of any of the political parties.

Students are not a section of voters renowned for their embracing of campaigns that preach sacrifice, responsibility and gradual reform and yet these are the qualities that Clegg cites as crucial to the coming years. It therefore seems a bold move to direct rhetoric and policy away from the voting patterns of a sector that have for so long provided a backbone for the party. The old promises remain; the abolition of tuition fees, greater distribution of grant money to underprivileged and unacknowledged students, however the “feel” of the parties recent ‘pocket guide to policy’ is significantly less optimistic than one might imagine of the Liberal Democrats and more carefully worded. Concessions such as “we can’t tackle all of Britain’s problems alone” alongside claims phrased as “we want to” as opposed to “we will” all give this pamphlet a sufficiently credible air.

There are still a number of quite extraordinary targets such as the desire to “set business free” and the statement that “We’ll give you a fair voting system”, however when considered in the context of the proposed European reforms even these moments do not seem entirely out of reach. The ‘pocket guide’ is a realistically anxious one, and this is likely to disappoint many student voters, but its greatest strength lies in its insistent positivity.

This all lies in stark contrast to David Cameron’s quite justified criticism of Gordon Brown which itself is a tactic that will inspire thousands of British citizens who are dissatisfied with the Labour Government. Nonetheless, the constant barrage of criticism and directly polemical stances on major issues (however divorced from the party’s true views) speak of a fundamental flaw in partisan politics. The Conservatives have found themselves a position where sneering, jeering and name calling has become their niche. However risky the Liberal Democrats’ politically realist stance is, it is one that does not require unnecessary, false confrontations and it is less condescending to the people of Britain than Cameron’s methods. Why then are the Liberal Democrats not tipped to come out of this election with a landslide victory?

Undoubtedly it has something to do with the historical image of the party as being disorganised and impractical. Although in reality the ‘pocket guide’ demonstrates a more concrete and policy-driven organisation than previous election campaigns the Liberal Democrats remain unsystematic and, perhaps more disappointingly, unprofessional. The party webpage is riddled with basic spelling mistakes, including “were” as opposed to “we are” and their central homepage pales in comparison with the ultra modern flash Conservative site. Add to this some truly mawkish stills of Nick Clegg sitting in a primary school and you have a PR disaster.

This all seems a shame as the Liberal Democrats have a lot going for them. They came out of the expenses scandal relatively unscathed and their widely broadcasted condemnation of the current UK foreign policy echoes the populist outcry of the people. As the party have gone to such lengths to reconcile their ideology with today’s difficult economic circumstances one might hope they could also combat the amateurism in their PR and marketing department – the area that is sadly formative of public perceptions of the party.

The newly discovered pragmatism of the Liberal Democrats does not make up for their continuing organisational chaos and it will not secure them many extra votes in the student sector. However, in the eyes of the general public Nick Clegg is making the important first step of rebuilding his party’s credibility. Perhaps when this all important goal is achieved, with the help of their inherent positivity, the Liberal Democrats will be the party to rescue British politics from itself.