The thing is, with our flawed FPTP system, the 2010 result was the best the LibDems were ever likely to achieve...
Is this all we can ever hope for? That any party other than Labour or the Conservatives is consigned to aspiring solely to gain enough seats to form a coalition with one of the main parties for which they'll sacrifice everything come the next election? Certainly seems that way to me.
...
We need change badly but I really don't see how it's ever going to happen.
Forgive me if you know this already but the Liberal party had a substantial (40-60%) amount of the vote share for about a century (1820-1920) before the emergence of the Labour party as a dominant force. Major changes can happen, but only when society is right to nurture them.
And yet a huge number of business leaders supported the Tories' economic plan and wanted them back in power.
I don't know much about economics but I'm far more inclined to agree with the opinion of those running businesses, employing people and contributing to the economy than some random economists spouting theory.
I don't believe, as Labour seem to, that you can just spend your way out of trouble. There are times when you have to invest to recoup and spur growth but there are also times when you simply have to rein it back in and clear some of the debt.
You're wrong to place so much trust in businesspeople when it comes to macroeconomic issues. Ask them if conditions are good for businesses sure, but if you want any macroeconomic advice you really need to be asking an economist, there's hardly any overlap.
I'm not an economist either but have done a lot of reading this year, and you're right, governments need to stimulate when demand is weak and save when times are good. The thing is, when the Tories took over demand was incredibly weak and bond rates very low, so the very best thing would have been to open the purse strings and stimulate the economy, e.g. by investing in infrastructure projects. Instead they decided to cut public spending at the very moment it was most needed. After a year they "paused" austerity, and growth briefly appeared, before things flatlined again. If you compare the figures for the USA (which had a more severe crash), Germany, Australia, Japan, etc. you'll find they all bounced back and exceeded earlier records, whereas we're still crawling along at pre-crash levels.
And finally if you're thinking about that signed letter PR stunt, many of the signatories were
honoured by or donors to the Conservatives. They also represented an insignificantly small proportion of business owners.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
But this is clearly a knee jerk reaction to this election.