Saturday, October 13, 2007

Ming: Liberal Democrats in Open Rebellion

Norfolk Blogger (Number 1 LibDem blogger, as voted by you) has launched a coruscating attack on his leader, Sir Menzies Campbell. he concludes...
Some in the Liberal Democrats may want the press to go away and stop running
stories about Ming, but the fact that Ming has had to launch yet another
comeback and we are still struggling in the polls shows the press are not simply
making things up. There is a problem, there is a boil, but nobody has the guts
to lance it for fear of the pain.

This comes on the back of Simon Hughes' interview to be broadcast on TV tomorrow, in which he says Sir Ming "has got to do better". The Times has a long article on Page 2 this morning too. Stephen Tall seems to be having an attack of the vapours too. While defending Ming on LibDem Voice, on his own blog HERE, he is rather more equivocal. He comes up with this idea...
It is no good closing our eyes and ears, and pretending all this nonsense will
just go away if we ignore it. The vultures of the Fourth Estate are circling.
For the good of the party, the uncertainty cannot be allowed to continue. The
onus is on our MPs, I think. A letter signed by all 62 of Ming’s Commons’
colleagues expressing full support for Ming as leader is the very least that's
needed. If they’re not prepared to do that, they have to work out what they are
prepared to do.

That, if I may say so, is an open invitation to mutiny, however you dress it up. The problem the LibDems have is not only that of their leader. They are now facing a classic squeeze. The voters they attracted from Labour who were disillusioned with Tony Blair are returning from whence they came. And David Cameron is attracting them out the other side. The last three polls have shown the LibDems at 11%, 12% and 11%. A change of leader would not necessarily change this, but it might. And that's the dilemma facing LibDems this week.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

You keep using that word 'coruscating'. The Guardian do it a lot too. Are you sure you don't mean 'excoriating'?

Ming isn't helping, but the Lib Dems have bigger problems. Their policies, for one.

AloneMan said...

Lib Dems always have a tough time when the media is concentrating the main two parties, as it has been for the last few weeks.
Leader not the main problem in my view. Does anyone really think they'd been doing any better under someone else ? If they do, wqho is that someone ?
Short-term reaction to polls, especially at the moment when they're all over the place, would be a daft idea.

AloneMan said...

Fron dictionary.com

coruscate - to exhibit sparkling virtuosity or give forth flashes of light

excoriate - to censure strongly; denounce

Niether can be used as an adjective, apparently.

Anonymous said...

Iain, the problem is simple, unlike the Tories we Lib Dems don't like blood sports and don't have the practice you guys have had at knifing leaders in the back!

Anonymous said...

To be fair- the Liberal Democrats problem isn't really Ming- it's LD's themselves. Most of the SDP lot left the Libbies for Nouchelabour- and they were left with the 'airy-fairy' cranks and halfwits. Their policies are inconsistent- whilst Libbies in office, be it in Scotland, Wales or in local government, are anything but Liberal- repressive and dictatorial is more like it. Examples: the Libbie record in Scotland where they went into a banning frenzy; whilst in Oxford (LocGov) i suspect Cllr Fooks who is in charge of the recycling there ( and making a right mess of it), will be told to Fook(s) off at the next council election there.

strapworld said...

womble on tour...rubbish..keep to wimbledon common!

strapworld said...

Cameron and boy george should start a roadshow going round the whole of England and Wales, with other charismatic colleagues to win more people over.Along the format of Question Time with an independent chair...I would suggest engaging the local newspaper editor!

I am sure this sort of meeting - open to all - with the proceeds going towards the local Mayor's charity- would both interest and impress local people.

Cameron talks about bottom up politics. Let him prove this by going out and actually selling it.

As for this blogs Lib Dem story..IGNORE them lets get on with attracting those back into the Tory Party.

Anonymous said...

Ming is certainly a major reason why the LibDems are haemorrhaging support, however it is important not to underestimate the damage that they did to themselves by way of the moonbattery at their conference this year.

At a time when it must be apparent to all but the most deluded of socialists that parties that set themselves up as on the left cannot win power in Britain, the LibDems deliberately chose to position themselves as to the left of Labour and then announced a series of plainly unpopular outdated and expensive left wing policies.

They will never get anywhere like that and so, I say, long may it continue!

Anonymous said...

I see Mr Cheeky Girl has resigned. Oh good, a leadership panto. All together now "He's behind you!"

Anonymous said...

hmmn, the squeeze can't be about policy - Tory and Labour plans are now virtually indistinguishable and are being fought out in a mad Ducth auction held over the authoritarian, err, moral centre ground (??) - so yes, it must be Ming.

Anonymous said...

Lib Dem politics keep giving off flashes of light, accompanied by smoke, explosions and the hiss of stabbed, collapsing leaders. So maybe coruscating was right the first time. Although, come to think of it, they do not generally show much in the way of sparkling virtuosity.

What fools they were to let Ming stab Charlie in the back. I liked Charlie. He may have been sozzled but he was still good value (esp. when sozzled).

Anonymous said...

As you know yourself Iain, regardless of what the polls say, Lib Dem incumbents are pretty hard to unseat. Polls mean something, but not everything. You also forget about the Thatcher-like revolt still happening in your party, despite your recent high wave in the polls. Whilst Ming's issue is fighting off those who believe what the polls say, the issue your party has to face is that Cameron is still fighting off those who believe the Conservative party should be conservative.

Anonymous said...

Yeuch - I second the original poster - 'coruscating' and 'excoriating' are two awful words, only ever used by journalists to show that they know the difference between the two of them and thus how clever they are.

I have never, ever heard anyone use these words in conversation

Anonymous said...

I see Mr Cheeky Girl has resigned as leader of the Welsh LDs.

He's going to stand for party chairman. What a cheek, or two. Simon Hughes had better watch his back...

Anonymous said...

Iain, you say many Labour voters who went to the LibDems because they hated Blair will now be returning to Labour.

Perhaps they went back to Labour initially when Blair left but now they've discovered that Brown is even more dishonest, odious, and corrupt than his predecessor I don't think they'll stay there very long, do you?

Anonymous said...

they got rid of kennedy 'for his own good' such genuine concern for his health. How can they depose/dispose of
Ming and still maintain their image as the nice cuddly party?

such a dilemma

Anonymous said...

Ming: Emperor of a spent dynasty

Anonymous said...

Liberall-
unseated the whole darn lot of you in may :)

Anonymous said...

Yes Cath, Lembo has confirmed his ambition to lead the Lib Dems.

Manfarang said...

Will the ageing Liberal Howard be removed down under?

Rich Tee said...

Another Lib Dem councillor commented on this yesterday.

Anonymous said...

Watch out now for specialist assassinater Norman Baker !