Sunday, January 13, 2008

Young Lib Dems to become a lie?

Hattips to Dizzy and Iain Dale who report on the story that Liberal Democrat Youth & Students is about to have a makeover and rebranding as "Liberal Youth". (Dizzy Thinks: Clegg to spin 'Yoof Wing' relaunch? & Iain Dale: Is Nick Clegg About to Change His Party's Name) What has caught the imagination of the blogosphere (e.g. Norfolk Blogger: Are we set to become the "Liberal Party"?) is the possibility that this could be a prelude to the Liberal Democrats as a whole reverting to the name "Liberal Party", although as there is already a registered Liberal Party, the name isn't available. (see Hug A Hoodie: Why Nick Clegg won't rebrand us as "The Liberal Party") Some are speculating that the former Social Democrats in the party will be hostile to this move, but this overlooks the fact that the merger is now twenty years old and the turnover in that party is such that many have no reason to care one way or the other.

But what I haven't seen anyone notice yet is how this move could be disastrous for the Youth & Students wing itself. The acronym "LDYS" can and often is pronounced "Lie-Dies", no doubt to the annoyance of many a LDYS member (who tend to pronounce each letter separately). But "LY" is even worse. This would be the silliest renaming exercise since the Reform Party of Canada dissolved itself in favour of a new party, the "Canadian Conservative Reform Alliance" and only then when the media pointed it out did they realise what happens when you add "Party" to that.

So will the young Lib Dems abandon a name with "rat" in it for one that makes them a lie? Time will tell...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh dear. That's mature isn't it?

Nich Starling said...

There is a worse example. I gather Newcastle Poly did consider as one of it's name changes before becoming Northumbria University the title "City University Newcastle Upon Tyne" - But CUNUT was too near an acronym to something else.

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