The Lib Dem demise in perspective – where Nick Clegg really went wrong
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Version 0 of 1. A postmortem is necessary but, while I agree with almost everything David Steel says (Six ways Nick Clegg steered the Lib Dems to disaster, 12 May), hindsight is all too easy. Foresight has much more to commend it. In The Liberator in September 2012 I predicted the Lib Dem massacre in the 2014 EU election, the local council elections and last week’s general election. I said Clegg was bereft of any strategic vision and called him “a cork bobbing on the waves”. I suggested positive steps that could be taken that may well have helped limit the electoral damage, including withdrawing from the coalition in May 2014. Related: Six ways Nick Clegg steered the Liberal Democrats to disaster | David Steel Last year in the same magazine I returned to the subject. Continuing the marine analogy, I judged that Clegg had become “a fish dead in the water” and called for his resignation. I also criticised Paddy Ashdown’s handling of the general election campaign. The reason I was proved correct in my forecasts is that I am a hard-headed realist who surveys the evidence and adduces from it likely future trends. The Lib Dem leadership and most of my parliamentary colleagues chose to bury their heads in the sand, hoping something better would turn up. It didn’t. I joined the Liberal party in 1955 when it had five MPs. I shall die leaving the Lib Dems with eight and a wonderful sense of a lifetime’s political achievement.Trevor SmithLiberal Democrat, House of Lords • If David Steel thinks he was writing “without rancour”, I’d love to read the version he wrote when he was annoyed.Angela BartonBishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire • With reference to David Steel’s article giving six ways Nick Clegg steered the Lib Dems to disaster. Wrong, David. It was joining a government with the Tories, full stop. Many, like me, who supported the Lib Dems for years will never vote Lib Dem again because it was a betrayal of what we stood for.Ken HughesHale Barns, Cheshire • Regarding David Hopker’s letter (11 May), Liberal Democrats may have problems rebranding themselves as Liberals. The Liberal party already exists. We welcome any Lib Dems who wish to join. Our website shows the superb range of Liberal policies to make them feel at home.John Clark North Yorkshire Liberal county councillor |