Illiberal Undemocrats say ‘boll**ks’ to the people in the name of ‘liberalism’ and ‘democracy’

The Liberal Democrats conference in Bournemouth has shown us where ‘liberalism’ is today, and it’s a pretty dark place. If you have the wrong (i.e. unenlightened) views, the party which preaches ‘tolerance’ will not tolerate you.

Britain in 2019 presents a topsy-turvy political landscape straight out of a Gilbert and Sullivan Savoy Opera. ‘Conservatives’ who don’t conserve anything. ‘Luxury communists’ who oppose communism. And Liberal Democrats who aren’t very liberal, or very democratic.

The Lib Dem conference had to be seen to be believed – and even then it was scarcely believable.

First, there was the party’s decision to cancel Brexit, without even a second referendum.

In saying ‘Boll**ks’ to Brexit, and pledging to scrap Article 50 on their ‘first day in power’ – if that ever happens – the Lib Dems are effectively saying ‘Boll**ks’ to the 17.4 million people who, rightly or wrongly, voted to leave the European Union in 2016, a large percentage of whom were working class and/or elderly. 

The policy could perhaps have been mitigated by a clear statement that the party understood the reason why people voted for Brexit. But no. Party sources even confirmed to the Daily Mirror that the Lib Dems would ignore the result of any second referendum if Leave won again. So, it really doesn’t matter how many time Britons express their desire to leave the EU, the Lib Dems will just ignore it. All in the name of ‘liberalism’ and ‘democracy.’

You see, the Lib Dems know much better than the 70 percent of over 55s in classes ‘D’ and ‘E,’ and the 60 percent of the unemployed who voted Leave. They’re terribly superior. And that’s the big problem with modern ‘liberalism.’ It insists that you must have the ‘right’ attitudes, or else you have no say whatsoever. Whether it’s bombing Libya back to the Stone Age, imposing austerity, or trying to enforce a very ‘politically correct’ mind-numbing cultural conformity, militant liberalism (and I’m not just referring to the Lib Dems here) has become as extreme an ideology as those which it routinely attacks. Repeat after me: In the name of ‘tolerance’ anything we don’t approve of will not be tolerated. 

The Lib Dems have welcomed into the fold a number of right-wing defectors from the Tories and Labour who share its extremely narrow and oh-so-superior worldview. Step forward to the podium one Chuka Umunna, a man who’s been in more parties this calendar year than Kate Moss. Chuka started the year as a semi-detached, uber-Blairite Labour MP. He then resigned in February to form the ‘Independent Group.’ That was renamed to Change UK, but in June, there was another change as Chuka left Change UK to become an independent. He then changed again, and joined the Lib Dems. And it’s still only September!

At the conference this week, Umunna made a speech on foreign policy that could have been scripted by the old neocon war-hawk John Bolton. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was denounced as an ‘apologist’ for the Russian government. The Lib Dems are terribly anti-racist, but attacking Russia is not only acceptable, it’s de rigueur.

Umunna, a former ‘Labour Friend of Israel,’ also claimed – without any sense of irony – that Corbyn ‘cannot be a champion of liberalism.’ If that is indeed true, it would only make one like Corbyn more. Because which decent person would wish to be called a ‘champion of liberalism’ in 2019, seeing what ‘liberalism’ means today?

It’s not just in Britain where ‘liberals’ are up to no good. Belgium, too, seems badly afflicted. The Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth welcomed Guy Verhofstadt, the MEP who joined Donald Trump (whom he had previously criticized), in recognizing Juan Guaido as the ‘only legitimately elected representative of the Venezuelan people’ earlier this year. In true modern ‘liberal’ virtue-signaling fashion, he posed on Twitter with a flag declaring Guaido Presidente.

It probably never occurred to him that as a Belgian he had zero right to declare who was or who wasn’t the legitimate ruler of Venezuela – in the same way a Venezuelan politician would have no right to declare who was or wasn’t the legitimate ruler of Belgium. But European ‘liberals’ think they have the right to anoint leaders around the world. Arrogance doesn’t come in to it.

This week in Bournemouth, Verhofstadt talked of empires. “The world of tomorrow is a world of empires, in which we Europeans and you British can only defend your interests, your way of life, by doing it together in a European framework and a European Union,” he enthused. 

It’s all rather ironic because we were told that Leave supporters were the empire nostalgists. It turns out Europe’s chief Remainer is quite a fanboy too. But it’s fine because he wants an ‘empire of the good,’ run no doubt by people who wear T-shirts which say ‘Boll**ks’ to things they don’t like. OK, yah?

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any more Orwellian, they did. The Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson, having made millions of Britons very angry by her party saying ‘Boll**ks’ to them, and pledging to defeat ‘populism’ (i.e. democracy), said she would put ‘happiness’ at the heart of her party’s agenda and would even consider appointing a ‘happiness minister.’

If there’s one thing that would really make us happy, Ms Swinson, it’s the crushing defeat of illiberal, undemocratic, and very sanctimonious modern ‘liberalism.’

Follow Neil Clark @NeilClark66 

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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.