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'Ming' Campbell is Lib Dems new leader
BillieTheBot
Posts: 8,721 Bot
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4763646.stm
First off, I'd like to say (and I meant to post this a couple of weeks ago when the Lib Dems won by a massive swing a by-election) that reports of the Lib Dem party's demise have been greatly exaggerated. That was just wishful thinking on the part of the Daily Telegraph or some members of this forum- who would like to see the Lib Dems dissapear as they appreciate the effect they have on Tory fortunes.
Now to Campbell: I think he's a great choice. He's highly respected, experienced and knowledgable MP. Every time he's been on radio or TV he's made far more sense than any other politician on the panel. Some of his performances on BBC Question Time have been quite devastating.
The Telegraph thought Campbell was just about the worst possible choice- another reason to like him then
First off, I'd like to say (and I meant to post this a couple of weeks ago when the Lib Dems won by a massive swing a by-election) that reports of the Lib Dem party's demise have been greatly exaggerated. That was just wishful thinking on the part of the Daily Telegraph or some members of this forum- who would like to see the Lib Dems dissapear as they appreciate the effect they have on Tory fortunes.
Now to Campbell: I think he's a great choice. He's highly respected, experienced and knowledgable MP. Every time he's been on radio or TV he's made far more sense than any other politician on the panel. Some of his performances on BBC Question Time have been quite devastating.
The Telegraph thought Campbell was just about the worst possible choice- another reason to like him then
Beep boop. I'm a bot.
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Comments
enough to fill a stadium ...
No-one said the Liberals were going to dissapear, but personally I think they've reached their high water mark and the only way they're going is down. That's not to say they won't do well in some by-elections and win some seats in the next general election, but it won't be as many as they've got now.
Campbell probably the best choice from a bad bunch. He's not the future and whilst he's extremely well informed on foreign affairs I'm not sure he's interested in domestic policies to really push Lib-Dems policy. Against that he's experienced.
Huhne just isn't known enough. Even now I'd have trouble recognising him on the street.
Hughes is a good campaigner, but very divisive within the party. he has his hardcore supporters, but also a hardcore who hate him (there's a definite anybody but Hughes element within the Party). Also like it or not he ran an extremely homnphobic campaign to be elected to Parliament and was then forced to out himself - homosexuality is probably not that big a thing to many voters now (doesn't seem to have done Alan Duncan or Chris Smith harm), but hypocrisy is another matter.
to be honest, they have a membership of 75,000
they had an alcohol scandal with their former leader
they had a homosexual/affair story about a leader candidate,
and yet they still have massive support, as shown in the recent bi election
smells like we are onto something here
The LibDems aren’t irrelevant yet but I think they’re heading for a fall, if not facing the brink of political extinction in a few years time. Assuming Cameron remains the Conservative leader and maintains his strategy of moving the Conservatives towards the political centre the LibDems will lose votes from the centre and see former Conservative voters going back to the Tories. Meanwhile if Brown as expected becomes Labour leader moving Labour to the left Labour will win back a lot of their traditional strongholds that the LibDems have challenged in recent years. And the LibDem approach of talking like Old Labour when fighting seats in strong Labour areas and trying to place themselves to the right of the Tories when fighting the Tories is becoming increasingly unsustainable, it’s embarrassing and squeezed by Cameron and Brown from both sides they’re going to struggle.
Although there does remain a strong possibility that Brown or Cameron would need the LibDems to form a government. Although I believe a hung parliament rather than strengthening the LibDems, allowing a small party holding the balance of power to exert great influence would actually fatally divide them – with LibDems in disagreement on whether to go with Brown, stay out of a coalition government or possibly even go with Cameron.
Now we have Ming Campbell as their leader, ok, he can talk sense abit more then Kennedy ever did, even if he does have a rather slow voice. But still, he is not going to change the party anymore then it has already changed. I am sure he will be nice for a few years, maybe one election, then old age will set in and it will be bye bye Ming.
In fact, has an opposition party leader ever stayed for a full two terms and lost two elections? I like to know these things, you never know when they're going to turn up in a pub quiz.
You know something Aladdin, for all your huff and puff against discrimination and state repression you "big up" some bizarre people. However pink & fluffy they appear, they are still desperate to preside over what is clearly an immoral system...the system being the root cause of everything you despise.
I bet you were really happy when Blair won the election in '97 yeah?
different face same old politics.
..and amoung his new policies, are killing flash gordon!
Ming; I'm not sure, he was rubbish in the House against Blair when it really mattered, I wanted Oaten, but then he turned out to have strange tastes.
They should all just give up and join one of the parties that actually matter in British politics.
But then what party can you trust? Tories are little more than political chameleans with no real oritentation anymore, New Labour have become Bush's lapdog and betrayed what Labour originally stood for, Lib Dems... In my opinion hold some very nice ideas, but can we trust them?
Green Party are too radical for us lazy indulgant Brits, RESPECT have got all buddy buddy with radical Muslims and have incited violence against Peter Tatchell, BNP are a joke...
I mean what can ya do?
I was damned happy when Blair won the election - after 18 years of Tory rule by Thatcher and Major, I'd have been happy if space aliens from the planet Zzyzzx won the election as long as it got the Tories out of the way! Plus, back then I was young and naive enough to believe that it made a difference who won.
Im just going to sit back and see what happens though.
The relevence of this is? I don't think that many people "hated" Kennedy
Until such time as young people vote in numbers worth counting they will be ignored so this isnt really a concern.
Perhaps its the problem with the parties thats the problem though, not young people. Does any party try and specifically target younger voters? from what I've seen no. The thing they go for is the middle aged or the massive grey vote. If they continue to do this the young will continued to get disilolusioned with party politics.
I dont think they even bother doing that. Politics is played for and defined by;
- Tabloids
- Voters in key marginal seats
- Potential donors to the parties
other people.