Who else do they have?!? I appreciate that he's almost certain to go, so do they have to choose a leader from the remaining MPs? All the big guns have gone, haven't they?!?
Edit: this is one for the chat forum, obvs 😉
There's so few of them now, do they need one?
Onzadog +1
They could just set up a rota.
well Farage said he'd leave politics if he didn't win in Thanet so he's a shoe in for LibDem leader...
Danny Alexander.
Work experience boy made good.
[i]Danny Alexander.[/i]
do you have to be an MP to be a party leader?
Lord Pantsdown to the rescue (on an interim basis).
Maybe ask Nicola Sturgeondo you have to be an MP to be a party leader?
[i]Maybe ask Nicola Sturgeon [/i]
She's an MSP though? I meant someone with no mandate beyond their own party? Even Farage is an MEP.
Tim Farron
Natalie Bennett is(was!) leader without being an MP also...
Some fingers are being pointed at this chappy (who I've never heard of):
[url= http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Lamb ]Norman Lamb[/url]
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Does it really matter? They're so small now, they're pretty much irrelevant.
Does it really matter? They're so small now, they're pretty much irrelevant.
I know! Who'd a thunk it, the sensible, centrist 'normal' ones having to return over half of their deposits while the swivel eyed right wing 'British Tea Party' loonies get 1 in every 8 votes nationwide. Aaargh!! Who stole my country!?! 😉
Farron vs Lamb is the expectation, Farron heavy favorite with grass roots, Lamb with party establishment, therefore Farron more likely.
IF ?
He has gone. Official.
Don't let the door hit your arse on the way out Nick
Ed next. Another useless spineless twunt shuffles offstage.
If there were more lib dems like Tim fFarron they wouldn't have such a small amount of seats
The media created Cleggmania, reality burst it.
Without the mania, he might have done better.
Not much to choose from right now. Icarus symptom?
Funny how people wanted to punish the libdems for going into government with the tories, and they've done that by voting tory!!
Politics is shit, i'm out. Protest votes only for me now...........
Funny how people wanted to punish the libdems for going into government with the tories, and they've done that by voting tory!!
The results are full of ironies!!! But this does seem a contradiction
Funny how people wanted to punish the libdems for going into government with the tories, and they've done that by voting tory!!
Well, they haven't entirely. But you're right that effectively the Student Fees cock-up killed any positive LibDem PR ever since.
Combine that with rampant nationalism, and they're the major whipping boys here. Labour also punished for being far out of touch with significant portions of the electorate (at a parliamentary seat level), and so pay the price for not being the clear alternative so many apparently wanted.
They have had a leader in the past?
help us paddy ashdown, you're our only hope
Lib Dem as a party is over probably forever now regardless of who they have as a leader.
No you're wrong, they still got more votes than Scotland.
Just watched Cleggys speech....poor bastard didn't deserve that!
I even felt a bit sorry for Ed M, he tried his best....but still haven't managed to feel anything for Ed B. He had it coming!
No you're wrong, they still got more votes than Scotland.
From about 12x as many constituencies!
Is there any party left to lead?
And is there something for which a Clegg or Cleggy would make an amusing adjective or euphemism? 😉
tim farron will lead them
We studied politics together at college - I got an E no idea what he got.
He has always been a Lib dem and was them - he will be used to dealing with a very small number of supporters 😉
Suspect he will win it easily
I agree its bonkers to punish the lib dems for the coalition by voting tory.
Perhaps folk were just voting for what was on the tin as the Lib dems made to much of the we could flip flop either way in order to anoint a king. I understand why they did this but it lacked principles and meant you had no idea what you were voting for.
Very popular locally with folk as well even non Lib Dem supporters so pretty safe as well
Shame he found god though as he makes some erratic faith based decisions.
liberals to join labour...............new party awaits
I think a lot of disillusioned Tories voted lib dem in 2010 only to be even more disallusioned with the outcome and have now gone back to the Tories in the absence of any credible alternative. The Libdems were just at their peak in 2010, right place, right time (or not with hindsight).
Funny how people wanted to punish the libdems for going into government with the tories, and they've done that by voting tory!!
I don't know why some people always come to the conclusion that the drop in support for one party must automatically explain the increase in support for another.
No survey has been done as it's less than 24 hours since the polls closed.
There could be any manner of different scenarios, such as most of the former LibDem vote going to Labour but Labour losing some votes to the Greens and UKIP, or/and possibly disillusioned Labour voters staying at home and not voting, or/and Tory voters making a greater effort to vote because of the perceived SNP "threat".
A substantial amount of LibDem support has always been a tactically anti-Tory vote so it's just silly to assume that it went to the Tories. Specially when it is widely accepted that in all the elections for the last 5 years the LibDems have been punished for their coalition with the Tories.
LibDem seats tend to be in fairly affluent areas such as Kingston and Surbiton, Twickenham, etc, that's why people vote for them tacitly, to stop the Tories. But even if in areas like Kingston much of the LibDem vote goes to Labour the Tory vote is so huge that the Tories win, giving the impression that LibDem voters have switched to the Tories.
And it should be remembered that the Tory share of the vote this election only increased by 0.08% compared to last time. Which doesn't suggest that the Tories were substantial benefactors of the 15.2% lost LibDem vote.
Back to the OP's topic, if it were possible for the voters to elect a party leader, Greg Mulholland would get my vote. He is personable, forthright and actually does something instead of just paying lipservice. When Clegg was asked why he hadn't been around to support Greg, he replied that Greg was able to fight his own battles.
Let's be honest..does anyone care who leads Lib Dems now?
I do I think it's improtant to have a free trade liberal party to balance the worst of the centerist anti-liberal side of both Labour and the Tories. We need someone who will challange the idea of identity cards and governement controlled police etc. etc. (oh and don't think the SNP are liberal either, they are just as bad as the Tories and Labour for wanting central state contol).
Welcome to town of Obscurity in the county of Irrelevance. I hope that the Lib Dems like it here. They could be staying a while.
Clegg had a wonderful chance to make a difference but he sold his arse for a sniff of power. Don't be fooled by the false tears, they are all for himself. As for Danny Alexander...
Coyote - don't be so silly.
Re: forming a coalition. He'd be damned if he did and damned if he didn't
What would you have done in your oh so clever way?
He'd be damned if he did and damned if he didn't
Why do some people keep trotting out this nonsense ? There is absolutely no proof that voters would have punished the LibDems if had they refused to prop up a Tory government.
Of course it suits Nick Clegg's narrative to make that claim but there is no evidence to back it up. Indeed all the evidence from the last 5 years suggests the complete opposite.
Look at it in a simpler way, you are offered a chance to form the government.
Would you have taken it?
If I was given a chance to prop up a Tory government would I have taken it ? No.
Who the hell would expect ernie_lynch to form a government with the Tories ?
To put it a simple way.
Re: forming a coalition. He'd be damned if he did and damned if he didn't
This is my opinion too. Not sure what they could have done differently!
