It is well known in British political circles that the Liberal Democrats habitually play a wide range of dirty tricks, and at least one other party operates a kind of intelligence unit to learn any new ones and inform party workers throughout the nation, so that they are prepared and can defeat the tricksters' plans. Some have come to the notice of the press, and attributions are given below where appropriate
Just to show how real this is, especially to those Liberal Democrats who claim not to be aware of any of them, here are just a very few examples:
The document, Effective Opposition [Published by the ALDC, written by Steve Hitchins & Alana Coombes, September 1999] was circulated to Lib Dem candidates, councillors and activists at their Spring Conference a few years ago. The document urges Lib Dems to "be wicked, act shamelessly, stir endlessly".
One section says: "You don't have to answer the question 'What's in it for me if I vote for you?' or worse, 'What will you do?' Those questions should only be answered by ruling groups." It advises candidates on the campaign trail: "Don't be afraid to exaggerate. "For example, responses to surveys or petitions are always 'massive.' "If a council is doing something badly, public expressions are always of 'outrage'."
It is to be noted that Liberal Democrat Party HQ has claimed that this was not an official campaigning reference tool and did not accord with party policy, yet it continued to be sold at party conferences and the techniques outlined continue to be observed in practice throughout the country.
Lib Dems condemned by coalition partners (March 2003)
Scotland's governing coalition has been plunged into turmoil after a leaked internal document revealed that Labour regards its Lib Dem partners as "untrustworthy, opportunistic and soft on crime".
The scathing internal Labour document reveals that the party leadership regards Scottish Lib Dem leader Jim Wallace and his colleagues as "cowardly" and ill-suited to coalition government. In a thinly veiled attack on Wallace, the Justice Minister, the campaign pack sent to Holyrood candidates two weeks ago by Scottish general secretary Lesley Quinn claims the Lib Dems are "soft on drugs and soft on crime".
The document instructs Holyrood candidates that "key points to make" include: "The Lib Dems are opportunistic. They cannot be trusted to make the hard choices that are needed in government. They are soft on drugs and soft on crime." The briefing adds that Labour's coalition partners "say one thing and do another and will say anything to get elected".
It says: "They pretend they are more Labour than Labour in our areas and more Tory than the Tories in other areas. "The Lib Dems say they are in favour of free personal care for the elderly but voted against it twice. They are only good at telling people what they want to hear. "They jump on any passing bandwagon if they think it will get them publicity. They hide behind Labour when difficult decisions have to be made yet claim credit for every popular decision."
(Cited in Scotland on Sunday, 23 Feb 2003)
The book Labour's Second Landslide—The British General Election 2001 (University of Manchester Press) concludes: "What was also significant about the Liberal Democrat campaign was the amount of negative campaigning. The party sought to portray itself as one which campaigned honestly and did not use such tactics lightly.
Nevertheless... negative tactics formed a considerable part of the party's campaign. Nearly 38 per cent of the party's press releases were negative... Only around 50 per cent of the party's campaign was based on politics and issues." (A.Geddes & J.Tonge (eds), Labour's Second Landslide—The British General Election 2001, University of Manchester Press , p.74-75).
The site is run by the Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats, who are based at Lib Dem HQ. It contains personal attacks on several shadow cabinet members and repeatedly links Conservatives with the British National Party.
The site was exposed in the press forcing the Party Chairman, Mark Oaten, to shut the page down. Humiliated Lib Dems were forced into issuing a public statement in a desperate attempt to disassociate themselves from the site that could be found on their main party website: "We do not approve of making political capital out of race issues."
(Cited Daily Telegraph, 24th July 2002)