Lib Dems elect coalition-sceptics

By Ian Dunt There was dramatic evidence that the tide within the Liberal Democrats was hardening against the Tories over the weekend, when two prominent sceptics of the coalition agreement topped a poll for the federal executive. Dr Evan Harris has stressed that the party must base all future coalition calculations solely on “arithmetic” and […]

Tuition fees rebel elected Lib Dem president

By Alex Stevenson The Liberal Democrats have elected an MP who refuses to back his party’s line on tuition fees as their president. Tim Farron, the MP for the Lake District’s Westmorland seat, beat former Richmond MP Susan Kramer, who lost her seat to Conservative Zac Goldsmith at the general election, to the internal management […]

Tuition fee ‘decapitation’ plan against Lib Dems

By politics.co.uk staff The National Union of Students (NUS) is drawing up plans to persuade students away from supporting the Liberal Democrats at the next general election. President Aaron Porter told the Observer newspaper his team would bid to highlight the Lib Dems’ U-turn on tuition fees by focusing their efforts on Lib Dems in […]

Lib Dems ‘plotted tuition fees U-turn’ before general election

By politics.co.uk staff The Liberal Democrats planned to abandon their tuition fees pledge before the general election, it has emerged. A book written by Conservative MP Rob Wilson being serialised by the Guardian newspaper has revealed the party planned to ditch its higher education “headache” in secret preparations for coalition negotiations. The news is deeply […]

Tuition fees: Clegg faces the music

By Ian Dunt Nick Clegg battled tuition fees opponents on two fronts today, as he faced a hostile reception in the Commons and the shouts of protestors outside parliament. As tens of thousands of student activists marched past Westminster, Mr Clegg was arriving to conduct PMQs, due to David Cameron’s trip to China. Deputy Labour […]

‘Waste of time’: Lib Dems suffer backbench teething problems

By Alex Stevenson Senior backbench Liberal Democrat MPs are struggling to get to grips with the committees supposed to preserve their party’s identity within the coalition, politics.co.uk can reveal. Its parliamentary policy committees were set up, after a lengthy delay, in a bid to maintain the party’s independent voice following the formation of the coalition […]

Lib Dem defector joins the Milibandwagon

By politics.co.uk staff A Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate at the last election has thrown his lot in with Labour, citing Ed Miliband’s leadership as the cause. Andrew Lewin, who stood for the Lib Dems in Hertford and Stortford, expressed discontent at the party’s acquiescence to cuts in housing benefit and raising tuition fees. “I haven’t […]

A week in politics: Lib Dem squirming wasn’t a pretty sight

It’s been a tough week for the Liberal Democrats, and it’s not going to be the last. Their biggest headache is on tuition fees, which the coalition government this week announced would rise to a maximum of £9,000. That’s funny, isn’t it? We thought Lib Dem MPs signed a pledge saying they would fight tooth […]

Interview: CentreForum’s Julian Astle

Five years after being set up, coalition politics has opened up new possibilities for liberal thinktank CentreForum and its director, Julian Astle. By Alex Stevenson Much water has passed under Westminster Bridge since 2005, when the Liberal Democrats under Charles Kennedy increased the party’s presence in the Commons over the 60-MP mark. Until then card-carrying […]

Lib Dem support hits single figures

By Ian Dunt Lib Dem support has fallen to just nine per cent, its lowest level since 1997, according to a new poll. The latest YouGov survey has Labour and the Conservatives neck-and-neck on 40% each. Other parties are on ten per cent. The result suggests Lib Dem support continues to slide, as the party’s […]