Author Archives: Anon Anon

Far more than the other major parties, the fortunes of the Liberal Democrats rest entirely on whether the party can grab the headlines. The Conservatives and Labour dominate British political life while the SNP play a key role in two Parliaments and the Greens receive climate-based coverage. The Lib Dems lack these outlets and have to string together by-election wins to get even the briefest spike in coverage. This struggle is what I believe is holding back the party. It is why the Liberal Democrats remain stuck around 10% in the polls even while the Tory vote collapses.

Many would say that this is an unavoidable consequence of the 2015 Collapse but I believe that this is something that can be changed. What the Lib Dems need is something else that other parties already have. The Liberal Democrats need representation among public figures to match the Conservatives and Labour.

What I mean is that the two biggest parties both have dozens of recognisable names. There are Journalists, Commentators, MPs and Cabinet Ministers who have all attained a form of celebrity status. They are household names, involved in projects across the media and attract press attention even when they are doing nothing. For example, when a newspaper posts an article about Alistair Campbell, Campbell is part of why people are reading. It is his brand, not just the Labour brand he was connected to, which is bringing in the viewers. When he makes appearances across radio, television and audio, Campbell is making people think about Labour.

The Liberal Democrats need figures like this. At the moment, the only attention the party gets is what it can generate by itself. It lacks passive representation in popular (and political) culture and it lacks recognisable names to draw people’s attention. Figures who used to fill this role like Paddy Ashdown, Nick Clegg (after 2015) and John Cleese are no longer involved and the party now struggles to get its message out. Anyone who doubts the power of public figures should look at the example of the Social Democratic Party which has no Parliamentary representation but it stays in the conversation because of notable figures like Rod Liddle.