Here we go again. Yes, it’s The Leadership Question. Frankly, I haven’t got the energy, and I reckon I’m not alone. But Lib Dem Voice tries not to ignore media coverage of the Lib Dems simply because it’s tedious beyond belief. So here goes:
* If you like Ming Campbell, he’s lauded by Dominic Lawson in The Independent here;
* If you don’t like Ming Campbell, he’s lambasted by Daniel Finkelstein in The Times here.
Whatever.
Follow @libdemvoice.org on Bluesky
Like us on Facebook
Subscribe to our feed
Sign-up for our daily email digest
Why Andy Burnham would be foolish to turn his back on London (Sarah Olney)
From Britain’s Mandate to Gaza’s Board of Peace: when others decide Palestine’s future, Palestinians pay the price (Jonathan Brown)
Let’s fix social care (Joe Wright)
It is not just about paying for social care (Chris Perry)
Hidden meanings in social care (Vince Cable)
Lord Bonkers' Diary: The nation's prison governors
Council by-election win for Lib Dems in marginal Westminster seat
Foxes need to be humble - Chaplin
Rural Communities working group - so, let the fun begin...
Is this progress on social care or a false dawn?
Council by-election results scorecard 2026-2027
Will Nigel Farage be made to pay for sharing that photograph?
Trapped pigeon freed from netting under bridge in Shrewsbury with 'verbal encouragement' by firefighters
Starmer has come and gone but the 2024 election bills still need sorting by the government
Shropshire Hills project receives almost £1m from National Lottery
Ruth Bright 
David Allen 
Pawel Urbanski 
Tristan Ward 
Mary Reid 
15 Comments
Brief note to Laurence Boyce – we already know what you think, so there’s no need to let us know again…
Danny Finkelstein was tedious when he was in the SDP. He is even more tedious now he is a Tory apologist.
Finkelstein is the toad who acted as Master of the King’s Stool for Owen during the latter’s disastrous tenure as Leader of the SDP. He is now a Cameron groupie.
(For those who don’t know, the Master of the King’s Stool was the guy who wiped Henry VIII’s bottom.)
Actually, I’ve changed my mind. I like him now! 🙂
(The Finkelstein link is bad. Deliberate mistake maybe?)
Yes, here we go again!
Personally I love this question, not because I love or hate Ming, but because it opens up the debate over what we require from a leader.
My own view is that any liberal is better than a non-liberal, but then again there is a natural heirachy over the extent to which any individual is actually liberal.
It also strikes me as amusing because attacks on Ming are a machiavellian way of offering criticism by proxy against either and/or both Cameron and Brown where they don’t measure up to the presumed ideal.
If Ming is too old, then surely he compensates with experience, whereas if Cameron isn’t too young he still doesn’t have as much experience; if Ming isn’t as decisive as Brown, then he certainly isn’t as divisive.
I also don’t buy into the fabrications of charisma, as that merely says more about the preconceptions of the audience and its’ receptiveness to any reflected bally-hoo in the media.
It’s all simply a subjective matter of horses for courses!
Stephen’s link to Da Fink’s peice has an erroneous . after the ece, remove it and you get to the article, which I haven’t read yet…
Apologies – link corrected. Cock-up not conspiracy.
Ming likes Wagner? Maybe he’s not such a bad ol’ cove after all…
…so did Hitler of course…
Tory says LibDem leader is not very good. Shock!
“Tory says LibDem leader is not very good.”
What’s Dominic Lawson then!
Finkelstein may be a tedious Tory apologist, but that does not negate the obvious logic of most of what he says.
We need a new leader, and i seriously wonder how bad things will have to get before we actually get one. Do we Have to get demolished at a GE before we get our act together?
Try this from Ian Dale -Hillarious:
And here was yesterday’s final version of the TOP TEN REASONS THE LIBDEMS SHOULD DITCH MING CAMPBELL…
Number 10: He really has no idea about anything apart from what is the best ‘Werther’s Original ‘ flavour
Number 9: He’s older than the average Conservative Party member.
Number 8: Because if he mention Jo Grimond one more time…
Number 7: H e hasn’t got any skeletons in his closet, which is ironic given that he looks like one.
Number 6: Stanna Stairlifts have been stuck for someone since Thora Hird died.
Number 5: He reminds me of Mr Grace from ‘Are You Being Served?’
Number 4: He makes a complete Horlicks of everything, when he should be drinking it instead.
Number 3: T he limited resources of the Liberal Democrats just can’t stand the cost of all the false teeth and incontinence underwear.
Number 2: The Upper House really needs a ‘Lord Ming of Merciless’
And the number 1 reason the LibDems should ditch Ming is: H e might mistake the nuclear button for the emergency home help.
About two are mildly amusing. But to be honest I find the constant age-related insults against someone who’s 66 (and has battled cancer along the way) says a lot more about those making them than it does about Ming. Especially as he’d qualify for the Tory party’s youth wing.
“Do we Have to get demolished at a GE before we get our act together?”
No, we’ll only get demolished at a GE if malcontents continue to attack the leadership in public instead of working for victory.
If you have any genuine complaints about the way the party is being led, then address them to your Local Party Chairman. Don’t wash party linen in public.
Sasiak begiak eta hontzak belarriak – “the brambles have eyes and the owls have ears”