Thursday 24th September

Only a few months ago they were still in power. Or, to paraphrase another old Politician, they were in Government but not in Power at all.  The Liberal-Democrats are now most certainly neither in Government nor ever likely to be again.  Or not in the for-seeable future of course.  Though, to be honest, who would have quite predicted the result of the last General Election; with the SNP triumphant all over Scotland and Labour doing so badly.  Just about the only thing that was certain was the demise of the Lib-Dems, though again hardly anyone thought they would be reduced to just eight M.P.s.  Almost from the moment they first turned all common-sense on its head and joined the Tories rather than vote them down with Labour, their fate was sealed.  The tuition fees about face was just the icing on the cake.  And there they stood, shoulder to shoulder with Cameron and Osborne, smiling for the cameras; Deputy Prime Ministers and Chief Secretaries to the Treasury, and all the other tinpot little baubles dangling in front of their Ministerial cars.  At times they sounded more Tory than the Tories, and yet they now protest that they always fought them and stopped them being even nastier than they were.  So what?  Now they can be as nasty as they like and where are the LibDems to stop them.

They are having their Party Conference this week and they still sound as pompous and self-important as they ever did.  They are incredibly given the same sort of air-time and exposure as when they had over 60 M.P.s.  Of course the SNP will not be treated with quite such respect, but that is another story.  And much as one doesn’t like to gloat, it serves them right. If they has acted with a bit more humility, if Nick Clegg had simply been a Cabinet Minister, if they hadn’t attacked Labour with such venom, if they had stood back and openly disagreed with and even reserved the right to vote against some measures – then we might have had a bit more respect for them.  And now it could take them twenty years to rebuild their shattered little party, and they don’t even have Charlie Kennedy anymore…