We need to complete our roll-call of Lib Dem target seats. Tessa Munt lost to the Conservatives in Wells, Andrew George also lost in St Ives, and Julie Pörksen failed to take the seat in Berwick, previously held by Alan Beith.
That leaves us with just eight MPs:
Nick Clegg
Tim Farron
Norman Lamb
Greg Mulholland
Tom Brake
John Pugh
Mark Williams
Alistair Carmichael
We do have to congratulate them for bucking the trend, and to wish them all the best in the future as they uphold Lib Dem values in the Commons – but it is difficult for anyone to feel joyous when surrounded by the carnage.
The updates since close of poll last night have given you the bare facts, so you can sift the key Lib Dem news from all the other noise, and we have left it to the commenters to express their reactions and feelings. Our Election night live blog attracted 290 comments and there have been a further 300 comments on other posts. Since midnight we have already had over 40,000 page views, which is only slightly less than on election night in 2010. Thank you to all our readers for valuing and being part of Lib Dem Voice.
But we have to now say that your overnight editors here on Lib Dem Voice (Caron Lindsay, Paul Walter and I) are gutted. We watched the unfolding horror right through the night, and were phoning each other for support at frequent intervals. I had to take myself offline for a while when the result came in from Kingston & Surbiton where I have campaigned for 40 years. My experience only mirrored the distress being felt by candidates and activists across the UK. We will get through this together – the principles of liberal democracy are fundamental and must not be lost – although it will be many years before we will be able to see the significance of the last five years in a proper historical perspective.
* Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still very active with the local party, and is the Hon President of Kingston Lib Dems.
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9 Comments
Thanks Caron, Paul and Mary. I think there is a feeling of determination, to learn yet not yield, from what I have read online. We know the solutions to our problems do not lie in different kinds of nationalisms, however much we respect our opponents.
Best wishes to all. Speak soon.
Five hours ago, I rejoined the Liberal Democrat Party.
Nobody bullied me. It was not a tactical dodge. I paid £12 to join an unpopular liberal party.
If you think liberal, act liberal.
Get sleep and whatever.
I do think that supporters might sensibly look at any rules over Leadership to make sure we don’t mess it up. But you can sleep through most of that:)
Before beginning the much needed analysis, let us thank all those people who worked so hard throughout the election. Sometimes you don’t get what you work for. That does not negate the tremendous dedication of LibDems over the last five years and throughout the election. Well done. Have a drink and toast Liberal Democracy.
Phil
Welcome aboard. Always best to join at the downswing – when I joined our leader was facing criminal charges of conspiracy to murder! Still here all these years later!
Have always voted Lib Dem since living in the Berwick Constituency, today I became a paid up member.
So we now have a rowing eight (‘Swing, swing together’).
And, unfortunately, all male. That does not look good.
Welcome to the new members, though, and well done. The news of the surge in new members spurred me to renew my own sub.
Integrity comes at a price, but it is no less integrity when the price is high.
hi team,
I havnt been directly involved in the process of politics so as to be personally involved with any of the people, but I too was struck by the great length of time some of the MPs had served, their dedication, and the extraordinary sense of the end of an era. Some of their opponents who won even seemed embarrassed at having unseated them. There was a boost in support at the 2010 election which was personally due to Nick Clegg, and brought in new MPs. However, the ultimate cost of what he chose to do has been way and beyond any gains, and in a modest, liberal, way a national disaster. I think dedicated backbench MPs should not be underrated as a force for moderation, and the attempt to engage in the compromises of government completely lost sight of this. I fear the eight remaining liberals may yet have more real influence on government from opposition than the 50 had in a formal coalition.