Lib Dem: Why I quit and why you should too

On Thursday 9th December the Commons voted to raise tuition fees, 63 percent of the Lib Dem parliamentary party helped it to pass, and I ended my two-year-long membership of the party. I had said to both the Boar and BBC radio that I would do so if a ‘significant number’ defected, a criterion I think was overwhelmingly met by the vote count. I made a pledge and, unlike most Lib Dem MPs, I kept it.

A lot of people think that people should always remain loyal to their membership since they submit their fee not to consent for the leadership at the time but to the underlying principles of the party. People who leave are seen as ‘quitters’ unwilling to join the internal struggle to enhance party policy and to keep MPs in check. Well on that viewpoint I am indeed a ‘quitter’; I’m also proud to be one and so should everyone else.

I think that politics needs more ‘quitters’. Quitting isn’t about walking away from a fight; it’s about expressing your views and your democratic right to do so. That’s why democracy isn’t just about voting in elections, and why spoiling your ballot paper is a no less valid and commendable choice than voting for a candidate. Without the option to quit we all become conservatives; we submit to systems of consultation that do not deserve our consent and movements that do not deserve our money. We think that the only way forward is to work within existing institutions and so we should worship their existence and treat them ever so politely as we make incremental changes while people are screwed over. And we justify it because we think our input means they aren’t being screwed over nearly as quickly as they would be without our illustrious presence.

While it may seem superficially sensible to remain and fight within a party for a better deal, doing so is both essentially submissive to party elites and damages the cause one may seek to promote. In doing so the leadership are simply not held accountable for their defection on a policy issue – instead members must be content with confining their efforts to future battles. The Lib Dems consult their members more than any other major party when it comes to policy – but one shouldn’t exaggerate this apparent openness to consultation. The reality, exposed by the tuition fees betrayal, is clear: MPs in government will make their decisions not on the basis of their election promises or policies agreed at members’ conferences but on their own pragmatic judgements. If we indeed seek a democracy based not on pragmatism but on truth, liars must be punished; not appeased. There comes a point when people must stop talking and start walking.

A friend commented on my Facebook wall recently that if more people actually left parties when they break promises then the parties might actually keep their promises. Admittedly my faith is currently too weak to think that they would indeed do so, but the point demonstrates that an essential part of democracy is the power of people to collectivise and form critical masses that influence both public and party policy. Without this and without people willing to take a lead in this we would live in a weaker and politically poorer society.

But I try to be an honest chap so I’m going to keep things real: I didn’t genuinely process all these thoughts while I was making my decision. I made it because of my anger at the betrayal and my pledge to leave if it happened. It was thus a decision that was compromised both by emotion and self-interest; a fetish for my own integrity. Happy are those who make these decisions for the right reasons every day – it is they who deserve your praise and respect.