1.0Sgwrs Tei Bowhttps://www.clarkeroberts.co.uk/cyClarke Robertshttps://www.clarkeroberts.co.uk/cy/author/clarke-roberts/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="BCdieTlTC2"><a href="https://www.clarkeroberts.co.uk/cy/2016/02/10/the-illiberal-democrats/">The Illiberal Democrats?</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.clarkeroberts.co.uk/cy/2016/02/10/the-illiberal-democrats/embed/#?secret=BCdieTlTC2" width="600" height="338" title="“The Illiberal Democrats?” — Bow Tie Talks" data-secret="BCdieTlTC2" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=https://www.clarkeroberts.co.uk/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js </script>Exclusive Shortlists Are Illiberal and Undemocratic Those of you who watched the Andrew Marr show last Sunday would have seen much talk about the upcoming EU Referendum, but there is one story that emerged that has gotten me and many other within the Liberal Democrats, spitting feathers. The Independent on Sunday published a story claiming that the Liberal Democrats could become the first party to introduce candidate shortlists made up of only those from minority groups, in an attempt to widen the party’s diversity in the face of a very snappily named, “male and pale” horde of MPs. The party’s record when it comes to diverse representation apparently makes Tim Farron embarrassed and this latest policy motion to be put to the membership when we convene in York this march, is an attempt to show everyone just how liberal we are, by making a concerted effort to make sure people from all minority groups have the chance to reach the dizzy heights of political stardom. There’s just one problem: this policy motion does the exact opposite. I’m not going to sit here and research statistics, facts and figures concerning the number of politicians in the UK who hail from a minority group for two reasons. Firstly because frankly I don’t think we should be considering ‘groups’ of people for reasons I’ll go into later. And secondly because someone told a room full of people at an ALDC Kickstart event that the reason she joined the party was because of its “common sense” approach to politics. So let’s take that sentiment. I can discuss why the policy motion is totally preposterous, just by using common sense. This policy motion is a clear example of positive discrimination; favouring those usually prejudiced against above those who usually ‘do the prejudicing’. I know that’s putting it crudely, but you get my point. If this policy motion were to be passed, then we could see areas of the country having a Liberal Democrat candidate list, made up entirely of people who are either black, Hispanic, female, disabled, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender…the list goes on. That isn’t a bad thing. I want anyone and everyone to be involved in politics. But the problem comes when a “male and pale” person is not allowed to stand for election based purely on the fact that he is a white British male. He might be the best candidate the Lib Dems have ever had, he could go on to be Prime Minister! But no. We have to look to be as diverse as possible and so deny that man the chance to become elected. Are we seriously suggesting that someone should be denied the chance to stand for election, despite their overwhelming suitability, based purely on the fact that they are not from a minority group? Sounds ridiculous when you put it like that, doesn’t it? Surely the only criteria for being selected to stand for election is the merit of one’s character and one’s competency to do the […]