And so Ming Campbell decides he’s had enough of the sniping and faint praise.
Assassin-in-chief Nick Clegg, and no doubt Chris Huhne, will contest the leadership. However The Guardian reports that the party may welcome a female candidate - which may be of encouragement to Susan Kramer, or the paper suggests, the rather lovely Julia Goldsworthy.
Perennial loser Simon Hughes has done everyone a favour and ruled himself out of the race (such decisiveness, Simon).
Clegg is clearly determined to get the job, and I fear for any candidate that beats him. Campbell - regardless of whatever role he may have played in Charles Kennedy’s downfall - didn’t deserve the woeful lack of support he received from his centurions. Campbell won the leadership and had earned his mandate to lead. Only last month I was defending Ming against the incessant treason he faced from some in his party. Clearly it had become unbearable (Campbell has laid low since announcing his resignation).
The serious damage has been done, not to Ming himself, but to the wider Liberal Democrat party. Just ask the Tories: the country does not like division and loathes Machiavellian scheming. The actions of Clegg et al will not endear them to the electorate. This is why, I believe, a female Lib Dem leader would be the perfect antidote to the testosterone-fuelled ambition of the male frontrunners (and also to the stag-like rucking of Brown and Cameron).
If a country is to have 3 mainstream parties, then it’s healthy that we have a female choice on the ballot - and not because of political correctness or feminist reasons, but simply because a female perspective would be preferable to a three-way pissing competition.
There are many progressive voters, who like myself, are frustrated by Labour’s nannyism and illiberalism. But the regicide of Campbell convinces us that the Liberal Democrats are no home for us. The Lib Dems are perfectly poised to capitalise, but in no shape to launch an offensive. And until they can unify under a single banner, they’ll always be a case of so what?
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Absolutely agree. Anything to break the mould. And Julia Goldsworthy is lovely
There could be two years for a new leader to get a grip and produce some real alternative policies. Trouble is that government has just come to be seen as a management job. We need a revival of radicalism but I’m not going to hold my breath. Depressing really
As a long-time LibDem voter [largely because of PR] I entirely agree with the above comments. The ‘faceless men’ have shot the party in the foot. Very sad about Ming, as although he was ineffectual as leader - probably because of his health - he deserves great respect for his persistent savaging of Blair over the Iraq invasion.
Luckily I don’t have a voting dilemma, as we have the best constituency MP I’ve ever known in Sarah Teather. Pity they aren’t all like her!
A disturbing sign of the ‘perception over reality’ cancer in politics.
Too true, Mr. Power. Bring back the radicals!
Anticant - I had no idea Teather was your MP. I do understand she is well liked by her constituency.
Agreed, Tim. A ghastly state we find ourselves in.
I’m not sure - on issues other than Iraq, that Ming performed particularly well, though (which is sad).