Dear Editor,
It is hard to think of the Davids ‒ Cameron and Granger ‒ as black widow spiders. But one is and the other might become one! What lessons are there for Guyana from the Liberal Democrats’ coalition with Cameron’s conservatives to form the government in the UK from 2010-15. It worked ‒ for Cameron!
Let’s draw four lessons for the AFC:
- Get the pre-nup right.
The two parties in Britain spent days negotiating their agreement line by line, clause by clause, and by and large they stuck to it.
- Big up the junior partner.
Give the leader a fancy title, big office and a fancy car. Nick Clegg ‒ the Lib Dem chief ‒ revelled in being called DPM (Deputy Prime Minister) for four years and more, starting off initiatives, having plenty photo ops, and being almost a man of substance. The ‘Dave and Nick’ show became part of the vaudeville of British politics.
- Give the junior partner some concessions in and out of cabinet.
Use them to temper the extremes in your own party and keep a united front, but also allow them to dig big holes for themselves. The British Tories got the Lib Dems to renege on their firm 2005 election promise to abolish university tuition fees. That had garnered them thousands of young votes. They were lost in a trice as was any trust in future Lib Dem promises. Clegg’s word was simply no longer his bond.
- As the election approaches ‒ and the date had been firmly fixed in the pre-nup ‒ start to go on what the British Tories call ‘manoeuvres’ (a military term familiar to Lt Col Harmon and Brigadier General Granger). Work out your strategy and tactics for the upcoming battle and conceal them.
‘Call me Dave’ and his advisers decided the best way to deal with the Lib Dems was to steal their parliamentary seats. There was no agreement on non-contesting. Cameron and his cronies started to pop up in the south-west of England and Wales where the Lib Dems were strongest. Dave’s election helicopter had its compass fixed south-west. Before they woke up ‒ having been lulled into a false security by the Tories choosing mediocre candidates to contest those seats ‒ the Lib Dems suddenly realised the true purpose of the manoeuvres… too late, alas.
So, just like the female black widow spider, having gently made love to his coalition partners for nigh on five years. ‘Call me Dave’ simply ate them up. All but a few of the Lib Dems disappeared. The number of their MPs went down from 54 before the May 2015 election to a rump of just eight. But the black widow had shown mercy and not eaten Clegg and his Sheffield seat. Instead he has been left a busted flush on the back benches, discredited and no longer leader. ‘Black widow Dave’ had won the first outright Conservative victory for 23 years: he reigned supreme.
The lessons for Guyana’s coalition? Stick close to your political friends but remember they can switch sides at the whiff of power! Machiavelli and that black widow rule in politics all over the world
Regular readers will note this intervention is rather prolix by John Mair standards, but the subject needed space
Yours faithfully,
John ‘Bill Cotton/Reform’ Mair