7 Comments

• Nigel Lindsay 21st Dec '24 - 1:36pm

  If the Labour and Conservative parties continue to lose support, then Reform or some other proto-fascist party may get into government at the next election. If that happens, the question will be asked – “What did Liberals do to explain why right-wing nationalist populism was a bad idea?” We shall have to answer, “The Party Leader and its President made truly embarrassing videos, which carried the sub-text that we are not really a serious party.”

• David Raw 21st Dec '24 - 4:14pm

  Nigel Lindsay makes a profoundly important point which I hope will resonate with those calling the shots in the Lib Dem Party.

  Outside the (temporarily ?) successful Home Counties, there is a wilderness of dereliction…… something those calling the shots don’t wish to hear. We live in serious times with serious threats to liberal democracy. The present Leader and the present party President need to provide serious answers to the serious threats Nigel refers to.

• theakes 22nd Dec '24 - 11:03am

  We must move on and start attacking Labour heavily. At the moment it is too cosy.
  2024 has gone. 2025 is not about removing the rest of the Blue Wall, that is unlikely anyway, it is about the North, the Midlands and Wales.
  It is significant that where we present a proper campaign in Labour areas the rise of Reform is restricted. It is not unconceivable that the next election could be between Reform and ourselves. We must be ready for that and we start by tackling Labour head on and getting the headlines for doing so.

• Chris Moore 24th Dec '24 - 7:11am

  @David Raw: “Outside the …..Home Counties, there is a wilderness of dereliction…”

  In the Southwest, we have over 20 seats, in London, we have 6, in Scotland 6. We have a significant presence and run local councils in many other areas. Don’t exaggerate.

• David Raw 24th Dec '24 - 8:45am

  @ Chris Moore Mr Moore, I first joined the Liberal Party in 1961, worked at Party Headquarters, elected six times as a Councillor in England and Scotland and polled nearly 30% in a rural parliamentary seat in Yorkshire. I think I’m in a reasonable position to judge what has happened outside the West Country and the Home Counties.

• David Raw 24th Dec '24 - 9:49am

  @ Chris Moore I don’t want this conversation to rumble on unduly, Chris, but I’d simply point out that in 2024, the Lib Dems polled 3.5 million votes.

  Back in 1983 the Liberal/SDP alliance polled nearly 8 million votes from a smaller population. More recently, in 2010, the Lib Dems polled nearly 7 million votes. It was quite clever to get 72 seats this time ………………. But,…………….. there’s only so much juice you can squeeze out of a geographically limited orange.

• Chris Moore 24th Dec '24 - 10:38am

  @David Raw.

  Hello David, the party rightly targeted seats and not overall percentage of the vote at the last election. That lesson should have been learnt after the two 1974 elections and severely rubbed in after the1983 election. It took us 40
  more years to get there.

  Regarding the areas where we don’t have many MPs: the Midlands, the North and Wales. In the Midlands and the North we do have promising strength in a decent number of local authorities. Now Labour are in government, I believe we will make headway in areas where we do have local government strength.

  Mark Pack has just produced a pamphlet looking at our strategic approach towards the 2029 election. It’s a really fine piece of work. And can be downloaded from his website.

  I’m always impressed by age and experience; so maybe you could suggest ways derelict areas can be brought to life

  Best of Christmas wishes to you.