Voting begins in 'close' Lib Dem leadership race

Clegg no longer shoe-in for Lib Dem leadership

Friday, 23, Nov 2007 12:00

Liberal Democrats have begun voting for their new leader, with Chris Huhne's team insisting the race is still too close to call.

Nick Clegg, who served as home affairs spokesman under Menzies Campbell, was widely tipped by the media to take the leadership and has been backed by a succession of MPs and peers.

However, Mr Huhne, currently environment spokesman, has enjoyed strong support among activists, with the party's 65,000 members crucial in deciding the next leader.

There has been no comprehensive polling of the Lib Dem membership, making it difficult to accurately gauge opinion.

Mr Clegg has 1,500 party members signed up as supporters while reports suggest Mr Huhne has 1,200 active supporters.

Private polling by the Guardian at a leadership hustings on Wednesday suggest Mr Huhne could confound the expectations of the Westminster village and take the leadership.

Of the more than 200 Lib Dems questioned at the Cambridge hustings, 40 per cent back Mr Huhne, 40 per cent were undecided and 20 per cent said they intended to vote for Mr Clegg.

However, the region is a strong area for the environment spokesman, potentially skewing the results.

Mr Clegg's team insist private telephone polling shows the home affairs spokesman is on course to win 60-40.

Mr Huhne alarmed many senior officials in the party last weekend when it emerged a researcher in his team had compiled a dossier on "calamity Clegg's" mistakes.

The environment spokesman apologised to his rival but said Mr Clegg had been "flip-flopping" on many issues.

Last night, former Lib Dem leader Lord Steel said he did support Chris Huhne, praising his position on Trident, but added was not part of any body's campaign.

He said both men are well equipped to lead the Lib Dems: "Whichever is elected is going to provide very good leadership for the party, I am convinced of that."

Voting closes in mid-December, with the new leader announced on December 17th.