Right, I got that one spectacularly wrong. On Monday, I made a prediction that the Lib Dems were going to get thumped by the Tories in the Chesham and Amersham by-election. In fact, the Lib Dems pulled off a stunning victory, overturning a 16,000 majority in a seat that has always voted Conservative.
But while the result surprised me, even as a lifelong Lib Dem, I won’t be celebrating.
This week, for the first time in my political life, I made a faulty prediction of the Lib Dems’ electoral chances because I wanted them to lose. This clouded my judgement as much, if not more, than my previous desire for them to win.
The reason I wanted them to lose is because I hated the campaign they ran in Chesham and Amersham. It was principally based around two things: anti-HS2 rhetoric and opposition to the Tories’ plans to liberalise planning laws.
Might the Tories capture the Red Wall at the expense of their old heartlands?
The latter of these, in particular, got to me.
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