The two conflicting wings of the Liberal Democrats are perhaps embodied by Simon Hughes
and David Laws. Their political and strategic differences have surfaced in this morning’s Observer, where Hughes gives an interview to say that the Liberal Democrats have to rein in the “ruthless” Tories, and
David Laws argues in an op-ed that the “Liberal Democrats must not serve as this
government’s brake, but its engine.”
That tension needn’t be destructive. As Lord Rennard wrote yesterday the Lib Dem’s long-term strategy is to prove that coalitions work and the junior partner can be both a driving and tempering force on the senior partner. Laws, for example, writes that the Lib Dems’ achievements include “amending the NHS bill and protecting the schools budget”. The thrust of Hughes’ idea is therefore central to the party’s overall strategy. Its fundamental assumption is that the Tories are, as Hughes puts it, “the bastards”.
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