Lib Dem activists were strangely mute when they had a chance to vent their frustrations at this week’s party conference in Brimingham, writes political editor Jonathan Walker.
Liberal Democrats have finally got used to the idea of being in power – and of being unpopular, if the annual conference is anything to go by.
In the run up to the event at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre, party President Tim Farron penned an article complaining that being in Government was “distressing”.
This was actually written shortly after the May local elections, when the party lost 748 council seats and could be forgiven for feeling blue, but was distributed to delegates as part of the conference directory last week.
By the time the conference took place, the mood had changed.
Solihull MP Lorely Burt, the chairman of the Parliamentary Party, argues that the party has “matured” and grown used to being in power.
Certainly, delegates showed little inclination to complain.
Traditionally, Lib Dems take pride in speaking their mind and challenging their leaders.
But when they were given a chance to let off some steam and tell party leader Nick Clegg how unhappy they were, activists were strangely silent.
During a question and answer session on Monday, Mr Clegg was forced to plead for more queries from the floor – warning that the assembled activists were in danger of looking like a North Korean political rally.
In return, the party leadership had plenty of red meat to offer the party faithful.
Mr Clegg signalled he would only let Tory Chancellor George Osborne fulfil his ambition of scrapping the 50p tax rate for the most wealthy if a new tax on the rich was introduced in its place.
And Business Secretary Vince Cable set out a series of measures to curb soaring pay among senior executives, including giving workers a spot on remuneration committees.
Treasury Minister Danny Alexander told delegates that low paid workers will be in line for a major tax break, with anyone earning £12,500 a year or less taken out of income tax entirely – a Lib Dem priority.
Chris Huhne, the former Lib Dem leadership contender and Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, compared Conservatives to the wackier fringes of America’s Republican Party, telling conference: “Let that be a warning to the Conservatives right here: we need no Tea Party Tendency in Britain.”
You’d almost think he didn’t sit around a cabinet table with them.
In fact, every policy announcement delivered at the conference had been cleared with Number 10 beforehand.
And how could it be otherwise? The Lib Dems cannot make policy on their own. Any Government minister, of whichever party, is bound by collective responsibility, which means they speak on behalf of the entire Government, including David Cameron.
But while there was something a little fake about attempts to find dividing lines with their Tory colleagues, Lib Dem ministers did succeed in demonstrating how the Government is enacting policies which represent Lib Dem values.
In his speech closing the conference, Mr Clegg boasted of his success keeping the Government “to a liberal path” and in “the centre ground”.
