Lib Dems’ track record in power is not good

IN Hansard (2/12/09) in a debate on Parliamentary Standards (constitutional Reform), Shailish Vara (shadow deputy leader of the house of Commons) said: “The Lib Dems speak of restoring the trust of the British public in Parliament and in politics as a profession.”

He goes on to say ”let us talk about the LIB Dems talking about trust in British politics” and quotes from the Lib Dems campaign document Effective Opposition. Page 21: “Be wicked , act shamelessly, stir endlessly

■ Page 23: “dont be afraid to exaggerate. For example, responses to surveys and petitions are always massive.”

■ Page 4: “positive campaigning will NOT be enough to win control of the council”

■ Page 6: ”You can secure support from voters who normally vote Tory by being effectively anti Labour and similarly in a Tory area”. It goes on to say “Oppose all service cuts. No cut is going to be popular. Why court the unpopularity that goes with the responsibility of power?”

■ Page 33: “You are NOT running the council. It’s not your problem.”

Lib Dem letters in Mail Box show they are still using this campaign document. They will oppose this year’s Labour budget and claim to propose a zero council tax.

The track record the last time they briefly held power is not good. In addition to spending the reserves from the last Labour administration, they spent the £100m windfall from the KCOM shares and could not account where it went.

The Labour administration spent the money wisely, eg KCOM stadium, which the Lib Dems opposed.

In 2010 Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC) revealed an overspend of £7.7m, savings not adequate to deal with government cuts and those that are identified were described as “flawed” and not “achievable”.

The PWC report also criticises the lack of leadership at the finance department and reliance on interim staff in key posts.

When the last Labour administration was audited the auditors were so impressed with the budgetary controls that they reduced the cost of the audit fee.

The Lib Dems have proved they can’t run an overindulgence in a brewery.