You won't believe this - the Libdems have recruited 10,000 new members since polling day

[Brexit = Keine Pumpernickel]

[Classic Jorge]

That said, I know a lot of people from all across the political spectrum who are actively involved in politics and the Lib ones are far and away the most switched on and the least dogmatic. There's a lot to be said for an evidence based policy approach.

[Brexit = Keine Pumpernickel]

What surprised me was people like Simon Hughes (MP since 1983) and Charles Kennedy (One of the Libdem safest seats) getting beat.

[redgunamo]

Or, as a great man once asked, "Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?"

[Brentwood]

but the condition is that he has to claim it. The rumour is that he won't because he wants to goad UKIP into sacking him, so he doesn't have to face a by-election :popcorn:

[Berni]

[Berni]

MP for an Essex constituency would be wholly inappropriate, particularly for a party whose schtick is not riding gravy trains or pissing away public money.

[Berni]

The narrative was 'The LibDems are naughty promise-breakers and have to go'. What was funny was that in many cases the voters 'punished' the LibDems by voting the tories in. :hehe:

[Red N White Army]

To earn it.

[Luis Anaconda]

[Berni]

of hypocrisy. For which you can't blame him. He might actually want a way back into the Tory party one of these days.

[Classic Jorge]

Obviously, this sort of fact based approach is a bit of an affront to british politics, especially in recent times.

[Classic Jorge]

[Classic Jorge]

[Berni]

Personally, I think the Lib Dems are dogmatic. They're just all dogmatic about different things. Some of them are to the left of Labour and some of them are just wet tories.

[Berni]

[Berni]

Basically, if everyone beats the **** out of each other, whatever's left standing tends to be about right. Consensus is just a bit wishy-washy for my liking.

[Red N White Army]

[Classic Jorge]

You cant surely think they are anywhere near as dogmatic as the tories - who are busily following a series of ideologically driven cuts which have already slowed growth pretty sharply - or the Labour party - who are insisting that one of the leaders they are about to appoint has to be a female, regardless of ability or aptitude - can you?

[Ashberto]

See you at the barricades.

[Berni]

They have to pay lip service to certain ideas, but the tories will - within reason - do whatever is necessary to stay in power. The Labour Party is horribly hampered by its ideological history (what other party would actually try and convince itself against all the historical evidence that moving to the left is a good electoral idea, after all?), but ultimately has shown itself ready before to abandon much of its dogma in order to get elected.

In that context, the Lib Dems aren't so much not ideological as part of church so broad that one side of it can't even hear what the other is saying.

[Classic Jorge]

I mean, it logically stands to reason that much of a government's kinetic energy is set on reversing the policies from the last government which they dont agree with, pretty much regardless of the efficacy.

The adversarial stuff just leads to people falling back into their entrenched positions if you ask me. It's also a massive turn off to voters by and large.

That said, it would also seem that voters resent being made to think very much.

[Berni]

[redgunamo]

[redgunamo]

[Luis Anaconda]

[redgunamo]

[Peter]

Not you believe in things like rights :-)