A leader in The Telegraph described Sir Menzies Campbell's PMQs performance as "sorry". The Times called him "Ming the Massacred". The Guardian's Simon Hoggart called it "bad and soggy, limp and ill-prepared". Ming "sat down looking a bit of an idiot," he concluded.
The acting LibDem leader had asked Tony Blair about the number of schools that did not have a permanent head teacher. It was a howler of a question given the lack of a LibDem 'head'. MPs from other parties overlaughed and then Tony Blair stilletto-ed Mr Campbell:
"It can be difficult to find a permanent head of an organisation when the post is vacant, particularly if it is a failing organisation."
LibDem critics of would-be Emperor Ming are recalling David Davis' lacklustre party conference speech and trying to suggest yesterday's PMQs was their acting leader's 'David Davis moment'. The media class (and this blog?) is certainly playing the same over-interpreting role; determined to cause trouble for the race's frontrunner and excitement for itself.
The Times is one of a number of newspapers to say that Ming's poor performance has encouraged Christopher Huhne MP to enter the race. Mr Huhne, it says, "would stand on a radical green platform married with a commitment to economic competence and devolving power to local communities".
There had been some doubt that Mark Oaten would be able to muster the names of seven MPs that are required to enter the LibDem leadership race. The leadership hopes of Messrs Oaten, Huhne and Hughes have been helped, however, by the revelation that MPs can nominate more than one candidate. This loophole in the rules has been described as "embarrassing, absurd and ludicrous by party insiders". Only in the LibDems..!
Is the importance of PMQs being overstated here? Ming wasn't great but so what.
I still hope Hughes wins 'though.Better for us by far.
Posted by: malcolm | January 12, 2006 at 09:20
Huhne is my local MP and he doesn't seem anything special. He's also sitting on a very fragile 568 majority in a region that is broadly supportive of Cameron. Decapitation may yet revisit the Lib Dems...
Posted by: Mark Fulford | January 12, 2006 at 09:31
I see you neglected to mention John Hemming yet again, probably deliberately in order to trick the Liberal Democrats into an error of omission. Tut.
Posted by: Daniel Vince-Archer | January 12, 2006 at 09:37
DVA - apparently Mr Hemming has decided to withdraw; can't we bolster his support somehow (as LD Mps can nominate as many as they want to)
Posted by: Ted | January 12, 2006 at 10:38
He's also sitting on a very fragile 568 majority in a region that is broadly supportive of Cameron
That would be Eastleigh I guess.
May I ask how you can actually claim to be aware that your region is 'broadly supportive of Cameron'?
A somewhat presumptious statement I should have thought.
Posted by: BB | January 12, 2006 at 11:02
We need a pro-market Lib Dem leader to stop the recent leftward of the Conservative Party. I was hoping that David Laws would stand.
Posted by: Selsdon Man | January 12, 2006 at 11:13
I meant to say 'receptive to Cameron', and it's the demographics of the constituency that justify the comment. Also, anecdotally, while socializing (in smokey Eastleigh pubs) I've been surprised at the revived interest in politics and the number of people Cameron has won over. Do you have different experience?
Huhne had a majority of 568 (helped by a UKIP vote of 1,600). I’m sure he’s very nervous of what Cameron means to his fragile majority.
Posted by: Mark Fulford | January 12, 2006 at 11:18
it's the demographics of the constituency that justify the comment
I can't imagine that the 'demographics' of any constituency would justify such a comment. I might as well say that my region is 'broadly supportive of Davis' and it would be an equally ridiculous plucked out of thin air.
Do you have different experience?
My experience is that people who try talking politics in pubs, smokey or otherwise, usually end up talking to themselves.
Or in your case possibly some fellow-bore who has found a soulmate.
No I don't detect any special interest in politics in general or Cameron in particular. You are simply seeing what you want to see.
Posted by: BB | January 12, 2006 at 11:25
The Ming Dynasty appears to be over, even before it started.
I wouldn't have said that his HoC performance was a Davis moment though. Davis said all the right things; it was just that another candidate (David Cameron) put in a far better performance. In the HoC yesterday, Ming was ill-prepared, but at the same time Hughes didn't do much better.
Posted by: Chris Palmer | January 12, 2006 at 11:45
"I might as well say that my region is 'broadly supportive of Davis' and it would be an equally ridiculous plucked out of thin air."
No, Davis lost by 2 votes to 1 so, even within his own party, he didn't have broad support.
Posted by: Mark Fulford | January 12, 2006 at 11:58
"DVA - apparently Mr Hemming has decided to withdraw; can't we bolster his support somehow (as LD Mps can nominate as many as they want to)."
I've checked my sources, and John has not yet withdrawn his candidature - he has, however, magnanimously signed nomination papers for Mark Oaten and has said he is prepared to do so for Simon Hughes and Chris Huhne as well. I suspect this is a cunning plan on John's part to split the 'stop Hemming' vote.
As for bolstering his support, trust me, I am doing my utmost to help John be elected to his rightful place as the leader the Liberal Demoprats deserve.
Posted by: Daniel Vince-Archer | January 12, 2006 at 12:54
It must be Hemming. I think this blog should rally round him.
Posted by: Sean Fear | January 12, 2006 at 13:05
If you live in a Lib Dem seat write to your MP in support of Hemming, its got to be worth a try.
Posted by: wasp | January 12, 2006 at 13:40
Hemming has pulled out, but there may be mileage in this one:
http://sarah4libdems.blogspot.com/
It's just possible that this site is even more unofficial than the great "Hemming's Way" blog - but worth our support. How do you start a log rolling?
Posted by: William Norton | January 12, 2006 at 14:45
It's worth pointing out that Huhne is a major league Eurofanatic. His Ken Clarke-style idolatry of the EU would provide endless opportunities for the Tories. I'm also surprised that little has been said so far about the euro opinions of Ming the Meaningless.
Posted by: Tory T | January 12, 2006 at 16:05
of course Demographics of any constituency make a massive difference to what candidates they may be supportive/receptive of ; this must be the one of the first things studied by campaign managers.
Anyway, I think I'd have prefered either Laws to stand, because he's a good bloke who we could work well with , or Simon Hughes who will take the party down the gutter.
Posted by: Matthew Oxley | January 12, 2006 at 16:26
What about Nick Clegg, sorry if I'm not up to date, but I thought he was one of the up and coming Lib Dems?
Posted by: Stephen Alley | January 12, 2006 at 17:20
Who is Chris Huhne? He certainly wont be leader as not a single member of the public will have heard of him.
Posted by: James Maskell | January 12, 2006 at 17:48
"Hemming has pulled out"
Ignoring all the jokes that can be made based on that statement, it is not yet true. Somebody posted the same rumour on his Wikipedia article, despite the fact that John has clearly stated that he won't be making a decision until the weekend at the earliest.
Posted by: Daniel Vince-Archer | January 12, 2006 at 18:29
Chris Huhne? Are they serious?
Oh, don't worry, I've just realised that last question doesn't even need an answer...
Posted by: Elena | January 12, 2006 at 19:00
Chris Huhne standing means that the "Orange Pact" will have collapsed. Nick Clegg and Dave laws backed Ming thinking that their generation would fight it out after the next general election. Huhne and Oaten change that. Expect Clegg to declare soon.
If he wins, it'll blow the Cameron triangulation strategy out of the water!
Posted by: James Hellyer | January 12, 2006 at 19:05
Chris Huhne is a lot older than Clegg. He doesn't represent a challenge to his long term prospects.
IMO he represents a serious threat to Cameron's strategy (no doubt music to some of this site's ears). Cameron's platitudes about the environment etc will not look credible when faced with a genuine believer. And faced with this roadblock the cries of the dissenters in the Tory party will grow louder with greater credibility.
As for his "euro-fanaticism". I don't expect Cameron's wants to mention Europe once between now and the next general election. The EPP promise was just a sop to close the whole issue down completely.
As for the guy who said Huhne can't win "because he's unknown". Er, of course. Never happened before in a major political party.
Posted by: greg | January 12, 2006 at 19:18
It hasn't happened in a mjor political party... this year.
Posted by: James Hellyer | January 12, 2006 at 19:24
So let's get this straight:
* Labour picked Blair because he was the candidate most like a Tory
* The Tories picked Cameron because he was the candidate most like Blair
* The Liberals are toying with the idea of picking Clegg because he's the candidate most like Cameron
Presumably someone in the Labour Party is looking for someone who's most like Clegg. Miliband?
You know you're getting older when the party leaders start looking younger...
Posted by: Clausewitz | January 12, 2006 at 19:33
A Huhne leadership would not be good news. He is a presentable centrist candidate ideally suited to glossing over the internal contradictions of Lib Demery.
Posted by: Peter Franklin | January 12, 2006 at 19:39
Can they really elect someone with so slim a majority though? I know he would benefit from the leadership boost but he's sitting on an incredibly rocky seat.
Posted by: Elena | January 12, 2006 at 20:44
Guido says that Clegg is taking soundings. A victory for him would screw up the Cameroon triangulation strategy. Vote Nick for real Conservatism!
Posted by: Selsdon Man | January 12, 2006 at 22:15