A significant proportion of their supporters are so disgusted with their craven austerity policies that they are refusing to vote for them. The result though is that even more right-wing parties get elected with even worse policies !

The same thing happened in nearby Lewes in the local elections. Lib Dem supporters stayed away from the polls in droves, disgusted with Clegg’s support for the coalition’s policies and as a result the Lib Dems lost control of the council – to the Tories ! One wag commented: “Whatever we do in the polls, the Tories seem to get in !”. How true !

What the world economic crisis has done is to bring to a head the crisis of social democratic politics and its complete inability to provide any serious defence of the working class and its allies in the face of a capitalist crisis. That is why any apparent “alternative” that pops up with any credibility – the SNP in Scotland, the Greens in isolated local pockets – can suddenly make a breakthrough. It also mans that such “alternatives” as the Greens are really very important and need to be encouraged and supported to move in a progressive direction.