Peter Hain on the LibDem illusion

Peter Hain writes in the Guardian that Vote for the Lib Dems and you will risk a Tory victory. He says that “I am only too personally aware that there is something deeper about today's disillusion among Guardian readers, and others. I understand and respect those, including family and friends, who are critical about Iraq and the non-existent weapons of mass destruction. All I say is that, right or wrong, ministers like me acted in good faith. Accepting this honest disagreement, surely the priority is to support the fragile fledgling democracy taking the place of Saddam's murderous tyranny - the Iraqi political parties, the free media and free unions that are trying to establish themselves against merciless violent attacks?”

He writes “You don't have to agree with us on Iraq, or support every one of our policies, still to vote Labour. The truth is, even our most ardent Guardian critics agree with 95% of what Labour has done, in particular building the strongest economy in living memory and record public investment.”

He warns that “A vote for the Lib Dems in these seats, from Dorset South to Braintree, from Monmouth to Kettering, won't achieve a Liberal Democrat government. It won't even deliver a Lib Dem MP. The result will be another rightwing Tory MP in Westminster. Moreover, the Lib Dems on their own admission have shifted rightward, with crypto-Thatcherite policies - such as abolishing the New Deal (which has brought 1 million into work) and the Child Trust Fund (to give poor youngsters an asset for their adult lives), and promoting privatisation of health services. Add the fact that the Lib Dems have accepted the continuing presence of British troops in Iraq and opposed early withdrawal, and it makes no sense for Labour supporters to back them over public services or Iraq.“