I know that it is unfashionable to feel sorry for Liberal Democrat MPs. Nevertheless there are times when, contemplating their unhappy lot, it seems appropriate to feel the odd pang of pity.
The latest polling from Lord Ashcroft furnishes one of these rare moments. He asked punters who they would like to see form the next government. As you would expect 77 percent of Tory supporters want a Conservative government while 14 percent actually rather like being in coalition with the Lib Dems and would be quite happy to see that arrangement continue. The picture is much the same amongst Labour voters. 80 percent say they want Labour to govern alone and 12 percent think a Labour-Lib Dem alliance would be better for Britain.
But what of the remaining Lib Dem voters? Only 70 percent of them favour being in power after the next election.
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