Politics: Lib Doom

When politicians start complaining about the media, you know that they’re in trouble.

When politicians start complaining about the media, you know that they’re in trouble. This weekend, a Liberal Democrat minister bounded up to me to complain about a double standard in the way that his party was reported. ‘Yes, we’ve lost councillors but we’ve gained five Cabinet ministers. Did anyone ever say that Tony Blair should resign because he was eroding Labour’s base in local government?’

The minister’s bullishness couldn’t disguise the fact that the Liberal Democrats are staring disaster in the face. Not only did they lose 695 councillors last Thursday, but they are also in danger of a wipeout at the next general election.

In the north, the Lib Dems are being punished for going into coalition with the Conservatives. In the south, meanwhile, coalition has meant that their supporters are now prepared to do what they once considered unthinkable, and vote Tory.