Calamity Clegg did his best to rush up to his homeland of Sheffield
and pronounce that their local election results were rather spiffing
and that the Tories should be worried to death because they didnt have
a single Councillor in Burnley.
I remember that sort of Bravado got us through one local election result when Kenneth Baker was our chairman. The fact was that there is always a crumb available to act as a lifeboat to save your skin for an election programme, but its durability in the longer term does not stand the test of scrutiny or time.
What must be worrying for the number crunchers in the Lib Dem Cowley Street HQ is that Clegg and the Lib Dems should have been the natural depository of the dustbin vote of those who are fleeing from the disaster which is Gordon Brown. People normally feel comfortable lending their support to the quirky Lib Dems in order to give their usual party a kick up the pants. NOT THIS TIME.
As the voters decided that Brown deserved a bloody nose, (missing teeth, cracked ribs, 2 broken legs, and severe concussion) the Lib Dems were not going to take comfort from the protest vote.
The starkest example of this was in London. Cosmopolitan London should feel secure in having a dalliance with the Lib Dems. Their mayoral candidate was a London personality with a bit of indie edge. Just up their street you would have thought.
To give their chances a boost the electoral system could have been devised by Paddy Ashdown, Charlie Kennedy and Co. The voters were given the chance to cast a vote for who they really liked and wanted to be Mayor, and when their candidate came nowhere a second preference vote could be cast- therefore no wasted vote.
So what happened?. The Lib Dems scored 9.63%.... a single digit score.... a complete drubbing.... a bloody good hiding! No excuses on this one. No defence of "we was squeezed Gov". The people of London overwhelmingly rejected them using this Lib Dem voting system and flocked to the two major parties.
So dress it up as they may, or indeed feel they have to, it is a very bad night for the Lib Dems. Added to which their national share of the vote declined further below the % at which Ming was deemed no longer fit to lead them. They will display their crumbs, but they are crumbs of comfort to them alone.
As far as my Party is concerned this was a great result and we now have to focus on keeping to the path that has got us this far. We need to reject the negativity of sour commentators like Michael Portillo who clearly sees his paychecks dependent on rubbishing his old Party. What a shame, and indeed shame on you. How stupid his article of the 24th February looks now entitled "Brown will win the next election".
The Conservatives must build on their policy successes of
inheritance tax, and helping first time house buyers. They must not
take the next election prediction of 126 seats as a certainty (Thrasher
and Rallings)
but at least the indicators are giving the green light to how David
Cameron is leading the Party. Brown's astonishing attack on him last
Wednesday as a shallow salesman now looks completely ridiculous and
indicates complete panic on his behalf.
As Labour MPs get back to work on Tuesday one thing is absolutely predictable. The tea rooms and terrace will be alive with just one question- how bad was it in your patch, and "remind me, what was your majority at the last election". I know. I've been there.
