Oh dear, where have they gone? Representing most of what is sensible in centre, centre left politics, the Liberal Democrats were meant to surge as standard bearers of voters appalled by Brexit and the Tories’ hard line stance on how we depart. But they have flat lined in opinion polls at 7-8%. Why?
Three reasons. First, and foremost, in a polarised world, their weak tone simply doesn’t resonate with voters. Generally anyone interested in politics is angry; angry we are leaving the EU, angry about the compromises being made on the terms of our departure, angry about cuts. The Liberal Democrats simply bore for Britain, and not in a good way.
Second, Vince Cable doesn’t have the energy or charisma to shape debates and none of the other MPs are making any impact either. His leadership also comes hard on the heels of a previous leader with bizarre religious conflicts surrounding homosexuality. You couldn’t write the script about such confusion in such a small political space…
Third, they have lost their PMQ slot, compounding a sense of irrelevance and are losing airtime generally on programmes such as BBC’s Question Time where they often don’t appear, replaced, outrageously, by the Nigel Farage’s of this world (32 slots and counting), and even intentional comedians.
The 2010-15 period for many represented the perfect blend of Conservatism tempered by the Liberal Democrats; fiscal conservatism, social liberalism and pro-European leadership. They were heady days for moderate Tories if not for Liberal Democrat voters who felt betrayed on issues such as tuition fees. So here is an idea for you…
If the current Conservative government supported allegedly by a mere 70,000 Tory Party members continues to inflict damage on the country’s future, why don’t moderate Tories take over and re-brand the Liberal Democrats? They could strengthen its economic stance on government expenditure a la Nick Clegg and David Laws whilst pursuing a pro-EU, social liberal agenda. It would save the high risk option of setting up a new party and meet the demands of the vast majority of centrist voters. Potentially highly attractive to disenfranchised, moderate Labour MPs and their supporters too…
Umm…just a thought…just a thought…
Inside Right Politics 
Great suggestion Julian. I feel that the Conservatives have lost their way quite badly. Brexit is but a symptom of the problems in the party. Their best hope to remain in power is voters fear of the serious risks presented by Corbyn! That’s not a strategy to build a successful government and redevelop society. Time for a focused group of people to present an alternative.
The Conservatives no longer seem to know what they stand for. They spend their time compromising on key policy issues to try and appease a party with too broad a church, divided by its opinions. The lesson from history, we’ve seen multiple times, is these societies/leaderships are either replaced by extremism or spiral downwards ever faster becoming less and less functional.
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