The triumphant return to Wells bandwagon by the Lib Dem leader suffered a serious derailment this week when the Lib Dems suffered their most crushing defeat so far at the Barnsley by-election. The by-election triggered by the resignation of a disgraced Labour expenses fiddler saw the Lib Dems reduced from 2nd to 6th place by the voters, with such a paltry return that they lost their £500 deposit as well!
A Labour win was never in doubt, Barnsley has elected Labour MP's since the 1930's it was recently said that a donkey with a red rosette would get elected there, however for a party to go from the main opposition to also rans in the space of ten months, coming in behind the BNP and a local Independent with no party machine behind him must be worrying for the Cleggmeister.
What a change since the general election campaign when the Liberals were up to 35% in some polls after the television debates, now the electorate can see what they are truly like, support has plummeted to single figures, down to as low as 8% in a recent poll.
The Lib Dem blogs were full of vitriol against their leader yesterday, there were numerous calls for Clegg to go, many feeling that he is leading them into oblivion and that the Conservatives are using the Liberals as a human shield. Their spring conference will make entertaining viewing next week, I can hear the knives being sharpened already.
With local Lib Dems deserting in droves, now up to three after two recent resignations, the question has to be asked "are they a party in terminal decline?"
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