tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274437.post537688965844480594..comments2024-01-29T08:47:44.310+00:00Comments on Eaten by missionaries: Phil Willis for President (of 'Liberals Against Choice')Iain Sharpehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07249331216466329232noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20274437.post-74108334024706737812007-02-15T16:39:00.000+00:002007-02-15T16:39:00.000+00:00While I agree with the essence of your position I ...While I agree with the essence of your position I think<BR/><BR/>1) You should ensure you are not begging the question. It does not follow that because a local authority has submitted an application for, say, a casino that "the community" wants it: it may be that residents are furious with their council for submitting the application (though I understand this is not so in Blackpool). The real argument for local decision-making is not that local politicians make better decisions but that if they make bad ones the people know whose heads to knock together, dismiss from office at the next elections etc. (and can dismiss them - governments are not usually dismissed as a result of a decision affecting only one locality). Councillors feel the blast more powerfully and are more ready to make concessions.<BR/><BR/>2) The party probably needs a debate on what is the essence of a Liberal but I hope it will not take the form of some members accusing some others of not "really" being Liberals - this just poisons the air and raises the suspicion that some people (not you) would prefer less diversity and fewer awkward corners - and more power for themselves. I would prefer a look at how the different aspects of the party fit together: is there a common core or rather a chain of shifting resemblances, and what of Liberalism is retained by people who might appear to have shed some parts?Tom Barneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02318269661959002397noreply@blogger.com