Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems have been dealt another blow by one of their up and coming young parliamentary candidate's decision to defect to Labour in protest at his leader's sell out to the Conservative’s policies and the abandonment of his party's programme.
Andrew Lewin, (23, the youngest Lib Dem candidate in England at the May election, pictured above) urged the party's MPs to oppose the controversial cuts to benefits in a Commons vote tomorrow. He claimed hardly any Lib Dem MPs support them, saying the party was being forced to swallow "a virtually unreformed Conservative agenda". Ooops now we are getting what we all knew anyway from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.
Although several councillors have left the party in protest at the Coalition's policies, Mr Lewin is the first parliamentary candidate to walk out, but he probably wont be the last!
Mr Lewin, who came second to the Tories in Hertford and Stortford in May, said he wanted to play an active role in the Labour Party and had not ruled out standing for it at the next election. "I have a passion for politics. I am joining Labour because of Ed Miliband's leadership. He has set a direction of travel that can appeal across the spectrum, particularly to young people."
Of course this is just the latest in a litany of disasters for our erstwhile third party (well actually in Scotland they are the fourth). In fact it’s so bad it is difficult to know where to begin!
• Rats deserting the sinking ship (see above);
• Support for AV trailing 11 points in the polls;
• Support UK wide wavering at 10%;
• Support in Scotland down to 7%;
• Support in Wales down to 8%;
• Predicted to be obliterated at the Oldham by-election.
Oh dear it seems that Nick Clegg’s decision to make the Lib Dems an fully owned adjunct of the Conservative Party may not be paying off. Seems that “Cleggmania” need not have been taken into the Collins English dictionary after all. I suppose at least that will be in the Guinness Book of World records for a word with the shortest shelf life ever!
