On the day of the general election I had a short conversation with the (now) former MP for Morecambe. It was all very amicable but she did happen to mention something about the Liberals. I know that my party is called the Liberal Democrats and I expect she does too. I said to her that I did not think it was an insult coming from her, but Gordon Brown went out of his way to call us Liberals even when he had been asked a direct question about the Liberal Democrats. I wondered at the time whether it was ignorance or insult. The answer I got was that it was just a shorthand method of referring to us. I am not convinced.
Yesterday Jeremy Paxman forgot the name of the party on newsnight. Even Nick Robinson preferred to use an incorrect shorthand in the news. I don't think it is difficult to remember the name and it is more important to do so in a small number of areas because there are a few people who call themselves Liberals. I am not sure how they get away with it because I was a Liberal and voted to merge with the SDP.
By the way, Jeremy was particularly obnoxious last night. If he wants answers he needs to listen. Norman Baker was particularly calm and repeatedly asked him to listen for an answer. I am not an aggressive person but I may have been willing to make an exception for Jeremy. However a punch on the nose often offends.
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Never! Myself and my liberal brethren have too long suffered the linguistic oppression of the party name. But no longer! The time of reckoning is at hand; the modifiers shall be reversed. The party shall no longer be called The Liberal Democrats, henceforth it shall be known as...
ReplyDelete...The Democratic Liberals.
Seriously though; is it that big a deal if he refers to the party as 'the liberals'? Is it an SDP thing? I'm fairly sure most of the young folk in the party conceive of themselves first and foremost as liberals.
Thanks Duncan. It may be an SDP thing. When the merger took place I was a member of the Liberal Party and I lived in an area where the Liberals were merging with the SDP - not the other way round. I suppose it is important for me because I voted for the name change and maybe it is more important because I know there are members who were previously in the SDP.
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