The Liberal Democrats
What unemployment policies?
I don't know much about Liberal Democrat policies on unemployment issues, but if their policies differ from the Conservatives in any significant way, it doesn't show in government policies.
Obsessed with proportional representation
In any case, they seem obsessed with proportional representation, which I strongly oppose for national elections. The Liberal Democrats say that the current system is unfair, but all electoral systems are unfair in one way or another. If they had got their way, we would replace a system in which the public's votes decide the governing party with a system in which the Liberal Democrats decide whether to go into a coalition with the Conservatives or Labour. To my way of thinking, such a system is not only unfair but undemocratic too. The May 2011 referendum on an alternative voting system wouldn't have given them proportional representation even if the public had voted for it, but it would have been an irreversible step in that direction.
Incidentally, one of the myths perpetuated about proportional representation is that it will keep elected politicians alert to voter needs, as there won't be any safe seats. That would only apply under the STV system, because other forms of proportional representation involve party lists. In these lists, those politicians regarded as important by their own parties appear at the top. It becomes harder for the public to unseat those politicians than under the first-past-the-post system. The Liberal Democrats say that their preferred STV (single transferable votes) system avoids party lists, but if proportional representation is ever introduced for British national elections, it will not be their decision alone and there will be other things to consider in selecting a system. The British part of the European Union election uses a system that involves party lists, so it is far from certain that the Liberal Democrats will get their beloved system of single transferable votes even if proportional representation is adopted for British national elections.
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