Peter Hoskin

The Lib Dems are having a bad day too

We’ve heard about those disgruntled Tories, but what about the Lib Dems? After all, the local elections always used to be their psychic salve: they may have struggled to make much progress in general elections, but their fierce local activism could always be counted on to yield council seats. But now that’s less reliable a tonic. After today the party is going to have fewer than 3,000 councillors for the first time since the it was formed in 1988, losing overall control of Cambridge in the process There’s even talk that Brian Paddick will slump to fourth place, or possibly fifth, in the London Mayoral race.

Of course, all this is unsurprising: the Lib Dems have been struggling against a tide of national hatred and indifference for almost two years now. But it will ratchet up the pressure on Nick Clegg nonetheless.

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