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LibDem Sloppiness These days party conferences are so stage-managed, I find them difficult to listen too. Viewing hours of them on television is surely too much to ask of the most loyal supporters.

However I do keep up to date with proceedings and was very disappointed that, at the LibDem luv-in this weekend, Danny Alexander misquoted Churchill during his desperate efforts to label anyone who disagrees with him "enemies of growth".

“We’ll never let the anti-European isolationists or nationalists frustrate our national interest. They are the enemies of growth”.
What is "the central national purpose"?  Sounds too much like a Common Purpose product to me and I have no time for CP ideals.

The LibDems are extremely pro-EU, particularly their leader Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander.  Of course both men have, in the past, made an excellent living from promoting themselves as EU enthusiasts.  Before rising to the dizzy heights of PR man for the Cairngorm National Park for a year from 2004-2005, Danny Alexander's job was to plug the EU: Director of Communications, European Movement 1996-99, Head of Communications, Britain in Europe 1999-2004. His background is PR not finance and his comment about the SNP was soundly ridiculed by John Swinney on yesterday's Politics Now programme.

However, it was his misquote which doesn't stand up to the weakest scrutiny:

"Sadly, eurosceptics on left and right fail to understand Winston Churchill's central insight that sharing sovereignty strengthens influence and isolation weakens us.

Actually Churchill said:

Churchill did not advocate 'sharing sovereignty' - quite the contrary.

Sloppy speech writing from Danny Alexander in a foolhardy effort to show the LibDems are a party to be taken seriously. How can anyone take them seriously when they can gain a foothold in government, both in Westminster and Scotland, only by default?

Posted by subrosa at 09:26 Labels: Danny Alexander, Libdem conference RMcGeddon said...

You're brave SR. Watching and reporting on the beardie weirdies so that we don't have to lol
Was Ming in the audience ? Chewing furiously on his werthers original ?
I think he fell out with Danny over the closure of Leuchars .
Their gipsy minister was just on Sky News saying that the council should have given the gypsies time to move out of Dale camp. Err I thought they gave them 10 years to get out ?
Could you imagine getting left alone to ignore your council tax for 10 years ?
Sarah Teather bombed in her joke sketches about Mr Hain being tango man and Gideon's alleged coke snorting. I think someone should have shouted 'Louise' and got her to stop. It was painful....


19 September 2011 at 10:43 pa_broon74 said...


I still find it confusing why we are being dictated to by members of a political party that is irrelevent North of the border.


19 September 2011 at 11:15 
RM I didn't watch it. I'm not a masochist. :) His words are recorded in the MSM.

Silly man misusing a quote from Churchill. That shows the level of intelligence he has when he doesn't ensure it's correct.

Thanks for your link though.

19 September 2011 at 11:23 
I find it confusing too pa_broon. His performance on Politics Now yesterday was erm... let's say his ego was in front of his thought process.

19 September 2011 at 11:25 Clarinda said...

I wouldn't be surprised that those laughing hardest at the excruiating LibDim contortions at gravitas or humour - are the Tories. The Tories know their Scottish vote is long gone - the splutterings of Mr Mundell are unlikely to resurrect anything apart from further derision. The Tories are surely engineering the extinguishing of the hapless Liberals in order to establish the southern realm of Toryland - with Labour bannished to the margins.

....... and where exactly is the Scarlet Murphernel - hiding in the wings in Liverpool to stun us with his cunning Scottification plan to out-nu Nu-Labour - as long as Ed & Co agree?
 
Farcical, modern politics but not funny.

19 September 2011 at 11:55 
I am sure that if he were alive today, Mr Churchill would have described Mr Alexander as -
”A highland sheep in highland sheep's clothing”

... with apologies to WSC.

19 September 2011 at 12:43 
I'm sure he's in hiding Clarinda. His review didn't actually provide any real answers to Labour's problems.

19 September 2011 at 15:16 
Is this modern politics LD style OR? Oh dear.

19 September 2011 at 15:17 
JRB, shame he picked a Churchill quote to misquote.

It's worrying knowing that he obviously doesn't believe in accuracy with him being in charge of the Treasury.

19 September 2011 at 15:18 
It's so easy to misquote someone from the past, none of the "believers" at the conference, or the media hacks, would even think of looking it up to see if it was true.
My favourite Churchillism, which could be applied to Danny Alexander was when he said in Parliament
"The Hon Member has not got the brains of a sheep"
"Certainly, The Hon Member has got the brains of a sheep"

19 September 2011 at 16:13 Crinkly & Ragged Arsed Philosophers said...

EP -he'd be wrong on the honourable.

It just goes to prove you can take a ginney willock out of the highlands and all you're left with is a Lib Dem.

But I think the honourable willock has aspirations towards a safe Mittle England conservative seat. Alexander believes in the epithet - I speak therefore I am ...... I think?

19 September 2011 at 16:21 J. R. Tomlin said...

Ah well, I'm reminded of another Churchill quote:

I suspect that is what our friends in the LibDem party are counting on, at any rate. I suspect times have changed though since Churchill's days. He hadn't met the internet. ;-)

19 September 2011 at 20:22 

19 September 2011 at 21:00 
Good one EP. :)

20 September 2011 at 01:04 
You're right Jeanne, but I believe he had an extensive library. :)

20 September 2011 at 01:07 
Thank you CH. I did. :)

20 September 2011 at 01:12