It's time to threaten the Lib Dems with Mutually Assured Destruction

By Tim Montgomerie
Follow Tim on Twitter

"Mutual assured destruction, or mutually assured destruction (MAD), is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of high-yield weapons of mass destruction by two opposing sides would effectively result in the complete, utter and irrevocable annihilation of both the attacker and the defender becoming thus a war that has no victory nor any armistice but only effective reciprocal destruction." (Wikipedia)

The Liberal Democrat campaign to retoxify the Tory brand is becoming more organised.

The party's Director of Communications Tim Snowball has produced talking points for all senior Lib Dems scheduled to appear on the media.

The Press Association has some of the key anti-Tory messages:

"The Conservatives can't be trusted to build a fair society. Until the Lib Dems got into government, no one could stop the Tories from looking after the super rich who fund their party, while ignoring the needs of normal people who struggle to make ends meet."

"Let's never go back to the way things were, because Labour can't be trusted with your money, and the Tories can't be trusted to build a fair society."

"If we all stick to and get some volume behind this script, by this time next year our voters will know that the Liberal Democrats are building a stronger economy in a fairer society, enabling every person to get on in life.

"So, if you make one New Year resolution this year, please make it to help us be 'On Message, In Volume, Over Time' and communicate from this script at every opportunity."

At the moment the bomb throwing is all one way. The Lib Dems need to know Conservatives won't keep meekly accepting their punches without a response for much longer. And if we counter-attack we will target their achilles heel and, ultimately, only Labour will benefit. The only way of encouraging the Lib Dems to observe coalition etiquette is to threaten them with Mutually Assured Destruction. There is a time to focus on electoral politics. Halfway through a parliament when the governing project still has a long way to go is not that time.