No more Clegg love or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the SNP
May 7, 2011 at 10:19 by Mike McQuaid
As some of you may remember, I was very positive about Clegg’s election to the Lib Dem leadership in 2007 and less positive about his role enabling Conservative cuts but still remained a member of the party. On Thursday I voted SNP in the Scottish elections and saw with delight as the Lib Dems lost more than 70% of their seats. I was prompted my a friend to examine quite what prompted my dramatic turnaround.
It’s hard to forget quite the level of betrayal I felt over the pledge-breaking tuition fees vote (admittedly one that does not affect us in Scotland). They signed a single campaign pledge in front of invited media attention, waved around that pledge all through that campaign, used it to court the student and academic vote by signing this pledge on a policy they had already supported for years. Unsurprising, their supporters didn’t take too kindly towards them not voting against, not abstaining, not quietly supporting but actively promoting the breaking of their pledge as something good for the country. This made me not want to vote Lib Dem for 10 years (if not more). People may accuse me (and others) of focusing on a single issue but, then again, the Lib Dems were practically doing that too.
Is it better for them to be in coalition than not in government? The political types and within their own party said it was. The voters have shown them in the Scottish and council elections that it was not. Many (former) members of the party are so fundamentally opposed to these cuts that the Lib Dem “moderating influence” and “compromises” feel like a “compromise” of supplying wine rather than vodka to an alcoholic bent on self-destruction (in this case, the Conservatives are bent on destruction of our public sector). The Lib Dems could have blocked these cuts. Instead all their principles seem to have been sold down the river in favour of an AV vote which has dramatically failed. Nice work Clegg (and the Lib Dem leadership); you’ve killed the party, possibly killed any chance at Commons voting reform, saddled the next generation of students with huge amounts of debt and been narrowly stopped in your first steps in privatising the NHS.
I honestly think the best thing now is to let the Conservatives form a minority government and support them on an issue-to-issue basis. They’ve hung the Lib Dems out to dry in English council elections and with the AV vote. This won’t happen, however. Power corrupts and the Lib Dem leadership will remain in denial until they are absolutely destroyed at the next election and wonder out loud where it all went wrong whilst their former members roll their eyes.
I think they underestimated the sheer extent to which the electorate would care about their pledge breaking. In my (limited) experience the majority of left-leaning voters were split into Lib Dems and Labour and (very generally) the prior have seemed to be more likely to be university educated and the latter (again, very generally) more likely to be working class. Unsurprisingly, academics, students and former graduates who value social mobility view an affordable university education as being somewhat important.
I’d found myself in a situation where I felt I could no longer support the Lib Dems so who to vote for in the Scottish elections? Obviously Conservatives were out so I was (limiting myself to somewhat major parties) choosing between the Greens, SNP and Labour. Labour’s campaign in the run up to the election was a farce. They seemed to focus on entirely why I shouldn’t vote for the SNP and gave me very little reason to vote for them (this is probably why the party leader only held onto his seat by 151 votes) and seemed further right of SNP and Greens with regards to renewable energy and certainly the Westminster party is more in favour with regards to foreign military intervention. This left me with two parties who both supported an independence referendum, both supported renewable investment but only one with a change of winning in my region or constituency (even my MP is an SNP, amusingly married to my MSP).
After voting SNP (choosing over Greens fairly late in the day) I was fairly overjoyed to see Scotland turn yellow on the electoral maps yesterday. We saw them make terrific gains and almost doubling their vote and meeting the magic 65 MSPs needed for a majority to finish with 69. This means they have their chance to show the Scottish electorate what they can do without needing cross-party support. Their last minority administration had very little power to institute any real change with this cross-party support and was denied their independence referendum as a result. The referendum is now on the cards in their next term and will begin a debate far more dramatic and interesting than that of AV or arguably even the Westminster elections: do the Scottish people want an independent Scotland? I do and I’ll elaborate on why in a future post. For now I’m just content with the first good election result since I’ve been able to vote.
Posted in Politics
My Albums of 2010
January 4, 2011 at 17:37 by Mike McQuaid
Inspired by John, Steve and Gareth I thought I’d detail my favourite ten albums of 2010.
None of these were actually released in 2010 but they were my soundtrack to the year. The album titles link to Spotify or another location to listen online (where available).
Paradise Lost (Symphony X, 2007)
Based around John Milton’s poem of the same name, this was the first Symphony X album that has really grabbed me. I found their previous work filled with too much shred and not enough melody. That’s not to say the shredding here isn’t as crunchy and technically fantastic (Michael Romeo on excellent form) but here it ties a bit better into a cohesive album structure and helps to elevate songs rather than distracting from them. My highlight is probably the title track which with Russel Allen demonstrating his voice sounds even better when he isn’t thrashing it.
Music Of The Spheres (Mike Oldfield, 2008)
The Songs Of Distant Earth is one of my favourite instrumental albums so I was interested to find out what Oldfield would produce when given a full orchestra to play with. The result is a beautiful and at times haunting album that doesn’t try to do too much. I’m no classical connoisseur but enjoyed this more than most classic music I’ve heard in years. Oldfield’s compositions bring me to a peaceful place and help me focus on higher things than the busyness of my day.
A Tribute to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (Rewiring Genesis, 2008)
I’m pretty skeptical about cover versions of songs and incredibly skeptical of projects like this that rerecord an existing album, particularly one I’m already a huge fan of. Something about Nick D’Virgillio’s varied vocals and the strange but brilliant addition of a horn section actually help to remind me what I loved to much about the original Lamb and produce one a re-imagining of an album I thought impossible to change without ruining.
Wallstreet Voodoo (Roine Stolt, 2005)
This has been a year I’ve found myself pulled further into politics and examining the global recession and this album has been a soundtrack to that process. Released two years before the banking system started spiralling down the toilet some of the lyrics seem sadly prescient of what would occur. Neal Morse’s addition and the bluesy feel add variation to what would have already been an interesting album.
On This Perfect Day (Guilt Machine, 2009)
Most progressive rock I listen to is accused of being overcomplex and unemotional but anyone would struggle to say the same about Guilt Machine. This Arjen Anthony Lucassen side-project about the psychology of guilt found him and his current girlfriend (and lead guitarist on the album) creating something deeply personal about struggles they’ve overcome. I didn’t find it instantly accessible but the sheer passion and emotion that emerges from the album make it truly brilliant.
Calling All Dawns (Christopher Tin, 2009)
I found Christopher Tin through his writing of the menu track in Civilisation 4, a beautiful version of The Lord’s Prayer performed in Swahili by a gospel choir. The album tracks the changing periods of a day and each song is sung in a different language. I’m not normally into classical music but was entranced by the contrast between the tracks links and their impressive variety.
Black Clouds and Silver Linings (Dream Theater, 2009)
I’ve been somewhat unimpressed with everything Dream Theater has done since Metropolis Part 2. There has been a few good tracks here and there, a few good riffs but it has just felt like the emotion and melody gave way to influences by boring metal. This album was a refreshing return to form with a variety that hasn’t been seen in an album other than Metropolis Part 2. The Count of Tuscany has an fantastic opening section where Petrucci manages to create something far prettier than he has in a long time by keeping his riffs simple and The Shattered Fortress brings a heavy but emotional conclusion to Portnoy’s Alcoholics Anoymous-themed suite. Sadly, Portnoy has now left the band so Dream Theater’s future is looking uncertain but I’m glad they got to release such a great album before that happened.
The Human Equation (Ayreon, 2004)
Arjen Anthony Lucassen’s main project Ayreon is an awesome set of concept albums that have an overarching crazy science fiction plot and feature many guest instrumentalists and vocalists. The Human Equation is a bit different as it focuses on a man reliving his life in a whilst in a coma and tracks him through his various emotional states. James LaBrie from Dream Theater provides the main vocals and we see his character regret and eventually come to terms with his life before awakening. As with Guilt Machine I was drawn more to this album by the emotional connection with the characters and writers than Ayreon’s other work and even although this album does not feature my favourite Ayreon riffs or songs I feel it’s probably the best released so far.
Space Metal (Star One, 2002)
Yet another Arjen Anthony Lucassen side project, I listened to this album a lot on Spotify before eventually buying the CD for £40 (as it was out of print) which illustrates how much I loved this. It’s heavily influenced by 70s and 80s Space Metal (hence the name) and is a lot more mainstream rock than the other prog here. The songs are each themed on a science fiction movie and stand alone so this is a concept album but without any linking between songs. This album has so many fantastic riffs and choruses that you can’t help but sing along (or at least try, I’m not exactly operatic). As a lover of pretty much everything Lucassen does it’s nice to see him write great songs rather than a great album and feature a consistent band between tracks. The 2010 followup Victims of the Modern Age is also very good but was released so late last year that it didn’t feel like it should quite make last year’s top 10.
The Whirlwind (Transatlantic, 2009)
When I heard Transatlantic were recording a new album I was beyond excited. Pete Trewavas, Mike Portnoy, Neal Morse and Roine Stolt are all great musicians in their own right whose contributions to their own bands are irreplaceable but it’s with Translatlantic they excel. There is a real sense of humility here, each musician allowing the space for everyone to get their centre stage moments but also coming together to produce incredible vocal and instrumental harmonies. The entire album is meant to be listened as a single continuous song and it really rewards the listener who does so; themes and riffs fade in and out, bringing almost instant familiarity. I was also lucky enough to see them live in London last year and they are as fantastic live as they are recorded.
Posted in Music
