Lacklustre Lib Dems
From Mr Marshall Billot
Sir: Peter Mandelson is correct ('What Hague must do now', 14 April). The Tories have not provided effective opposition, thereby enabling the Labour government to move quickly up the sleaze tables, given the lack of political accountability. Even less excusable, however, is the pathetic opposition role played by the Liberal Democrats, who have spent far too much time cosying up to their 'progressive' allies in the Labour party, while Tony Blair plays them for the rubes that they have become. Given tbe comparative lack of political baggage of the Liberals, where was the criticism of Jack Straw's increasingly authoritarian Home Office (e.g. the prospect of the elimination of trial by jury and double jeopardy) from a civil-libertarian perspective? Why not lead the way in an intelligent debate on the euro from the federalist perspective, instead of always trying to score points off the Tories? What about a few constructive constitutional ideas, rather than the half-baked mess that the Labour party has created? Is it too late to hope for a proper freedom-of-infor
mation law — not that pathetically illiberal proposal from the Home Office?
It seems to me that there is a huge void in British democracy in terms of providing coherent, principled opposition, but the Liberals, under their chat-show-host leader, have proved even more delinquent in this regard than the Conservative party under William Hague.
Marshall Billot
Fernhurst, West Sussex
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