Labour, Tory - it's the same thing.

It’s quite incredible to see so many politicians defecting from the Tories to Labour or from Labour to the Tories. That never used to be possible. What it shows, I believe, is that there's now very little to choose between the two parties. They're both right of centre, authoritarian, free market and desperate to win at any cost. When I joined Labour back in the 1980s it was a progressive party. Now, after ten years of Blair and Brown, it's a conservative party.

Try asking a Labour Party supporter to name one positive thing the government has done since 2001. Nobody can. There are none. Before 2001 we had independence of the Central Bank, Sure Start Children's Centres, the minimum wage, devolution and increased investment in health and education. All good policies I agree with. Since 2001 we've had the Iraq War, overly close relations with George Bush, isolation in Europe, Trident renewal, ID cards, detention without trial, Foundation Hospitals, Academies, nuclear power, a widening gap between rich and poor, and almost no action on Climate Change. And the Tories supported virtually all of those measures, indeed some of them were only passed with Tory backing in Parliament.

The Liberal Democrats are often accused of being all things to all people. But the truth is that the Lib Dems have stayed exactly where they have always been - in the progressive centre of British politics. The Lib Dems have always believed in fair election system where every vote counts rather than one where swing voters in a few marginal constituencies have all the power. The Lib Dems have always believed in serious action on Climate Change rather than putting tokenistic wind turbines on Notting Hill roofs!

The Lib Dems have always believed in increased investment in education. Remember the 1p on tax to fund education pledge? The Lib Dems have always believed in pro-active local policing rather than reactive, patrol car-based policing. The Lib Dems have always believed in rehabilitation of offenders rather than locking them away in crowded prisons where they learn to become better criminals. The Lib Dems have always believed in protecting civil liberties rather than introducing draconian measures which subvert the democratic values we all hold dear.

I believe that's the real choice in politics today - between the Lib Dems at the progressive centre, and Labour and the Tories on the authoritarian right.