Y’know those stories about the death of the Lib Dems? Turns out, they might’ve been exaggerated…
by Stephen Tall on December 14, 2012
As Samuel Ellis Rees points out today:
Of the last 20 Council by-elections to take place, the Lib Dems have won 11 of them. 8 of which were gains from another party. Not too bad.
— SamuelEllis Rees (@SamuelEllisRees) December 14, 2012
And as I noted last week, after the Lib Dems had gained four seats from the Tory party:
Can’t help feeling if Ukip had won 4 council seats from the Tories last night, as LibDems did, the media might’ve mentioned it #narrativerut
— Stephen Tall (@stephentall) December 7, 2012
And yes, before the Lib Dem-baiting starts in the comments below, I’m well aware that local council by-elections need to be taken with a liberal pinch of salt and that none of this alters the party’s flat-lining poll ratings. But the main point remains: in spite of everything, the party’s still alive. Speculation of our demise, as so often in the past, is premature…
* Stephen Tall is Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice, a Research Associate for the liberal think-tank CentreForum, and also writes at his own site, The Collected Stephen Tall.