Liberal democrats

One of the most remarkable things about this parliament is how the Liberal Democrats have continued to hold their nerve in the face of truly dire poll ratings. Now, partly this is because the Lib Dems are a cussed lot and don’t want to give the media the satisfaction of seeing them squeal. But it is also because their own extensive seat polling, they’ve spent £350 thousand on it in the last couple of years, makes them confident that they will do better than anyone thinks they will. Party figures familiar with the polling, present numbers that show them to be competitive in, for example, Cardiff Central; a seat that

Following my earlier story about the Tories deciding they can only rely on Lib Dems who are ministers to form a coalition majority after the election, I have learned that the rebellious backbench problem is worse than it first appears. The party has run out of MPs suitable to work as Parliamentary Private Secretaries. For those who don’t know, PPSs are the ‘bag carriers’ of government, junior ministerial posts that largely involve an MP being forced to be loyal to their party whip at all times while briefing their minister on important matters, working as their minister’s eyes and ears in the rest of the party, and encouraging the rest

With every week that goes by, the more likely it is that the next election could result in a stalemate with neither Labour nor the Tories able to put together a deal that gives them a majority in the Commons. One Downing Street source, who has crunched the numbers, predicted to me last week that, because of what is going on in Scotland, the Tories will be the largest party on 280-odd seats. But if the Tories have only 280-odd seats, even deals with both the Liberal Democrats and the Democratic Unionists wouldn’t give them a majority. But Labour wouldn’t be able to stich one together either. For, as I

Nick Clegg has complained to Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary, that he was ignored before a government policy was announced, Coffee House has learned. The Deputy Prime Minister was annoyed that he did not get the chance to approve a change to the way Birmingham elects its councillors, from elections by thirds to all-out elections every four years. The change is part of reforms to the struggling local authority announced in a review by Sir Bob Kerslake. But Clegg claims he was never allowed to sign off the policy, which he should have seen because he chairs the government committee that approves most domestic policy – the Home Affairs Cabinet

You can tell when a battle has been won.  Read the Pink News or any other gay news site and you will see that there are almost no stories left to report.  A politician in Northern Ireland may be caught expressing an opinion on gay marriage which was the view of all mainstream UK political parties ten years ago.  There might be some gossip about various celebrities (so no different from any other newspapers).  But otherwise gay news sites are reduced to tentatively wondering if Transgender rights are the same as gay rights (the jury is out) and otherwise running mainstream politics stories which strangely favour the Lib Dems while

One interesting nugget from Lord Ashcroft’s latest batch of polling is what his focus groups in two seats – Sutton and Cheam, and Elmet and Rothwell – had to say about the parties’ messages. Here’s a quick summary: Conservative: ‘Finish the job and get back on track’. Labour: ‘Vote Labour to save the NHS’, possibly adding ‘and stop the cuts’ or ‘and tax the rich’. Liberal Democrat: ‘Vote Lib Dem to balance the extremes – to split the difference’. Ukip: ‘Leave the EU and control immigration.’ Greens: ‘Vote Green to save the planet.’ Ashcroft was also struck by the cut-through achieved by the Greens’ now-defunct policy of decriminalising membership of

Nick Clegg always seems oddly upbeat when he’s doing interviews about just how badly his party could do in the General Election. Today when Andrew Marr asked him about Iain Dale’s prediction the Lib Dems will lose at least half their seats, Clegg said ‘I really don’t think thats going to happen’ and that ‘we will do so much better than the pundits are predicting’. The Lib Dems currently have 56 seats (the 57th, Mike Hancock, had the whip withdrawn last year), and this election forecast suggests they’ll end up with 27. The sense in the party is that this will be just about OK, but go much lower than 25 and

After Vince Cable was ditched last week as the Liberal Democrat’s main economic spokesman, Mr S is pleased to hear that he still has some titles left to his name. Word reaches Steerpike that a number of staff working with the Business Secretary, who has a PhD in Economics, have been advised to refer to him strictly as Dr Vince Cable in written correspondence. ‘We were a bit surprised that Vince Cable won’t do as that’s what we are used to but it apparently has to be Dr Vince,’ a mole whispers. A Liberal Democrats source says that far from coming as a request from the business secretary himself it’s official guidance that in formal correspondence politicians are referred

Vince Cable will tomorrow lose his job as Liberal Democrat economy spokesman for the election, Coffee House understands. The party is set to announce its team of leading spokespeople for the General Election and I have obtained names in advance. Cable’s demotion in favour of Danny Alexander has been expected for a few months now. The Business Secretary will speak for the party on business. A well-placed source indicates that Lynne Featherstone will continue covering home affairs, Jo Swinson is due a job of some description and it’s likely that Baroness Susan Kramer will continue speaking on transport. However, there will be no role for Kramer’s colleague in the Lords, Baroness