So far in my series on the 2014 elections for the European Parliament, I have posted about why it matters, gone over historical voter turnout information, had a look at the different parties & alliances and (most recently) analysed the manifesto of the UK Independence Party. In this post, I will be going over what’s in the Liberal Democrat manifesto.
Liberals have had a presence of some kind in the European Parliament since the very first election in 1979. Currently, the major alliance for this type of political party is the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe, or ALDE. They have 83 MEPs in total and they are involved in many of the committees. Out of that total, 12 are members of the Liberal Democrats. Therefore, they make up 14.5% of the third largest alliance.
I should mention at this point that ALDE have their own manifesto, but it’s only 8 pages and is broadly similar to the Lib Dem document that I’ll be covering in this post.
Design and structure
To put it simply, the manifesto looks like the minutes of a lengthy committee meeting. It’s a 47 page PDF of a word document that’s full of sub headings, paragraphs and bullet points. It’s much more comprehensive than the UKIP and ALDE documents, but looks like a lot less effort went into presentation. It is true that some people might like the simple and no-nonsense approach. However, this is a dense document and something should have been done to make it more accessible. You cannot just assume that the hardcore politics junkies will be the only ones to read this. It should be considered one of the most significant documents for this particular election.
The policies and achievements are separated into the following areas:
- Jobs
- Crime and justice
- The environment
- The financial system
- Consumer rights
- Agriculture
- Europe and the world
- European Union membership and reform
- Fairness and opportunity
Whilst this is comprehensive, there seems to be no order to the areas. It’s certainly not alphabetical. The great offices of state aren’t first. The environment and Agriculture could be next to each other. It doesn’t seem to be ordered based on public opinion or current issues either. Surely finances and reform would be near the top if that were the case. It just gives the impression that this was organised without much thought.
There are some positives to note though. In my post about the UKIP manifesto, I noted that there was nothing about their own MEPs. It’s not the case here. There is a full list of the MEP names, as well as paragraphs about their recent achievements and activities. They also provide the names of the other parties in the ALDE alliance. If you assume that UKIP didn’t mention the MEP names because they want them to be redundant, you can use that logic to argue that full lists is a clear indicator of their intention to participate in the European Union. It could also be part of an effort to dispell the theory that MEPs are just suits that do nothing apart from turning up and claiming expenses. In addition, the manifesto gives details to the reader about what the Lib Dems have achieved in Europe – for each policy area.
Spin
The following is from page 32:
“Liberal Democrats are proud of their excellent track record and reputation in the European Parliament, recognised by the Daily Mail as the “hardest working British party””
The Daily Mail is important because it has put forward some anti-EU in the past. However, lets put this statement in context. They were called hard working because they had a higher attendance record than the other parties (87%) in this article from 2013. That’s right – they were only called hard working because they were the ones who came closest to doing something every MEP is supposed to do. It was nothing to do with policy development or negotiation – it was attendance. It’s a classic piece of spin.
Another example is their use of the word ‘achievement’ throughout the document. This is the dictionary definition:
“1. something that has been accomplished, esp by hard work, ability, or heroism
2. successful completion; accomplishment
3. (Heraldry) heraldry a less common word for hatchment”
In theory, anything could be considered an achievement. Me waking up in the morning could be an achievement. However, in the context of politics and the European Parliament, it would be more appropriate for it to be related to something like a leadership role. The point about attendance was classed as an achievement, even though most would class it as a requirement of the job. In the section covering ‘Europe and the world’, there are 9 achievements. Points 1, 2, 5 and 6 seem more like they were merely supporting the work of others or agreeing with what others say – not doing anything themselves. Quite disappointing and another example of spin.
Reform
One of the major issues has to be European Union membership and reform. UKIP is gaining in popularity (better than the Lib Dems according to recent polling) and wants to be out of Europe. Another of the major parties – the Conservatives – wants to stay in and reform. The following is from page 32 of the manifesto:
“Liberal Democrats support giving the British people the opportunity to vote on European Union membership through an ‘in’ or ‘out’ referendum in the event of proposals for any further significant transfer of powers from the UK to the European Union.”
So, they want a referendum. However, if you read the statement carefully, you’ll note that a referendum may never happen if there’s no reform. Current UK polling data suggests that much of the population wants a referendum. However, I have to agree with the Lib Dems on this specific point. You should try to fix what is broken and the only way to do that is by being part of the system. If you do that and the public don’t see any benefits afterwards, then maybe the EU is beyond repair.
Finance
Surely one of the biggest issues in European politics. The following are the policy areas:
- Better quality of regulation
- Alternatives to short term bank financing for SMEs
- Large companies to pay fair taxes in the countries that they operate
- Standard information across Europe about financial products, such as insurance
- Fairer rules to prevent the manipulation of financial and energy markets
- Extending (to the UK) a system where bank transfers do not face transaction charges (currently used in the Euro Zone)
- Stabilising the Euro
On the subject of companies paying taxes, it is important to identify a clear difference. ‘Tax Avoidance‘ is not the same as ‘Tax Evasion‘. The former is something completely legal and I believe should be expected. One of the objectives of a business is maximising profit and that includes coming up with ways to minimise tax payments. The latter is something completely illegal. If you don’t agree with some of the practices that fall under ‘Tax Avoidance’, then you should change the laws. This should be both a national and international issue as many companies exist in multiple nations.
On the point about the Euro, they will work towards stabilising it, even though they don’t want the UK to be part of the Euro Zone. It might seem odd and (perhaps) slightly contradictory, but it makes sense. The UK trades and works with many countries. It does us no good if the economies of our partners are affected by a failing currency. Going back to pre-Euro currencies would take too and might not fix anything.
Consumer rights
From page 22:
“Consumer protection is a cornerstone of the European Union single market. Businesses benefit from a single set of reliable rules across 28 countries. Consumers have reaped huge benefits from cheaper goods and services, more choice, higher protection for rail and air travellers and cheaper mobile phone charges when abroad”
The following is what the Liberal Democrats will be working on in this area:
- Abolish mobile phone roaming charges
- Compensation and financial protection in the event of a failed holiday
- A higher standard of food inspections
- Appropriate compensation for malpractice
- Tackling online gambling issues
- Higher standards of animal welfare
The point about online gambling is misplaced. Much of the paragraph about this could be placed in the ‘Crime and Justice’ area (e.g. money laundering and under-age participation). Nevertheless, it is something worth campaigning on.
Roaming charges make no sense within the Euro Zone at least. There is already free trade and no bank transaction charges. Although we are not part of the Euro Zone or the Schengen Area, the UK is still an important part of the EU. If the Parliament wants to promote further integration, abolishing roaming charges wouldn’t be a step in the wrong direction.
Although not a future policy, I should mention that the Lib Dems supported the introduction of health warning on 65% of cigarette packaging (page 23). I would be interested in knowing whether any smokers out there have stopped buying cigarettes as a result of this. Smokers already know the health risks, so why would this make a large scale difference. I also wonder why this just applies to cigarettes. Alcohol also causes harm, but you don’t see similar warnings.
Jobs
This survey (done by Eurobarometer), states that 45% of it’s respondents feel that unemployment is one of the two major challenges for the EU. 40% feel that more should be done at a European level to tackle unemployment.
According to the manifesto, the Liberal Democrats will campaign for the following:
- More jobs from trade within Europe and with worldwide markets
- Cutting red tape and reducing regulatory costs
- Combining fairness with flexibility
- Promoting innovation in science and manufacturing
- Getting British ideas to market faster
- Supporting project bonds for vital infrastructure
Apparently, there is £60bn of funding for research and technology. Obtaining a significant percentage of this would be great for our universities and companies. The UK has some truly outstanding universities and successful companies. Increasing investment in this area will improve the quality of researchers, increase the chances of universities getting future funding and much more. It could also encourage the creation of more technology startups to come up with innovative ideas. They will know that with funding available, they have a better chance of succeeding and influencing the world in which we live. More research money improves student recruitment. More startups and increased company profitability raises the number of jobs.
As for regulation, I mentioned in my post about the UKIP manifesto that regulation isn’t as big a problem as some make out. It is still an issue though. The Liberal Democrat MEPs (and presumably ALDE as a whole) will work towards a reduction in red tape. This is always a vote winner. People will always approve of improved efficiency.
Other issues
Reform, finance, consumer rights and jobs are four major areas and definitely warrant discussion. As you’ll note from the list at the beginning, there is more in the manifesto though.
As I have only recently covered UKIP, I have to mention immigration. Interestingly, the word is only mentioned once in all 47 pages (on page 38). I wonder if this was a conscious decision, due to negative public opinion. The Lib Dems support free movement as it stands, but also want to ensure the benefits system isn’t abused. They want a nationality box in the Universal Credit claim form, so that there can be better statistics. The only problem is that the Universal Credit is due to be fully implemented until 2017. That means there will be 3 more years of sub-standard statistics. 2017 is also over half way into the next term of the European Parliament. The Lib Dems also want streamlined processes for those who already have a Schengen visa, meaning quicker access. This is one step away from actually being part of the Schengen Area (which would mean we have no passport control and are effectively borderless).
Finally…
I will be interested in your thoughts about the policies of the Lib Dems in Europe, as well as their ‘achievements’. I would also like to know if any of you plan to vote for them and why. Polling suggests less of you will this time.
The next blog post about the European elections will look at the manifesto for the Conservatives.
So, what do you think?