Bonfire of the Liberals.

[Kevin S]

Bonfire of the Liberals.

For me the key thing about him is that, as a scientist, he recognises the importance of research, evidence and expertise. Quite a refreshing trait in a politician these days.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Bonfire of the Liberals.

It is. I'm sure he was gutted by the other shit happening around him, to be fair.

[Diable Rouge]

Bonfire of the Liberals.

Lib Dems in double digits - post Brexit surge, or atttracting centrist Labour voters?

[N est à?]

Bonfire of the Liberals.

Bit of both, plus I suspect there's some direct tranfers from ukip to lib dems. There used to be a lot of former lib dem voters who voted for them as the 'anti-system' choice, and a lot of this vote went straight to ukip after they went into government.

I've noticed that anti-Corbyn people on social media, when they get very cross, will sometimes threaten to leave labour and join the liberal democrats, so maybe there will be some more movement in that direction.

[My Name Is Ian]

Bonfire of the Liberals.

Seems odd that UKIP people would defect or from the most pro-European party (I assume the Lib Dems to still be pro-European - in truth, I haven't read hardly anything about them since they went into coalition).

[Duncan Gardner]

Bonfire of the Liberals.

Aye, UKIP (and to a lesser extent Greens) picked up a lot of 'Not the big three' voters when the Lib Dems agreed the Coalition.

Now that English Politics is a bit like French football, with a dominant party and almost everyone else struggling to rise from single digits, we might see more movement at the margins.

[NHH]

Bonfire of the Liberals.

Given Tim Farron didn't join Labour because he found Derek Draper an all too credible representative of how right-wing it was, it's a little ironic that a bunch of righties would be fleeing to a party run by a man who finds them all too right wing for his taste. Interesting times.

[N est à?]

Bonfire of the Liberals.

Heh, Derek Draper.

Never regret thy fall, O Icarus of the fearless flight
For the greatest tragedy of them all Is never to feel the burning light

[Duncan Gardner]

Bonfire of the Liberals.

More by-election news from Kipper heartlands. A Dudley town center ward for the local Council, and the self-styled national opposition aren't standing (although Greens are).

2016 result: Labour 60%, UKIP 29%, Tory 11%.

[Diable Rouge]

Cable elected Lib Dem leader unopposed:

https://mobile.twitter.com/britainel...53554983964673

[Gangster Octopus]

Cable elected Lib Dem leader unopposed

"elected"?

[Janik]

Yep. It's a position decided by election, so the winner is elected. Even if there was only one candidate so no need for actual voting.