Ming: One Year On

PRESS RELEASE: 1 March 2007

“Ming Campbell is the ‘comfort zone’ choice, offering more of the same in a slightly polished form. For all of his gravitas, Campbell would shy away from challenging the party over its direction, and from communicating to the public a compelling ideological narrative”.

Benjamin Ramm, Editor of The Liberal, in The Observer, 29 January 2006

A YEAR after his election, Sir Menzies Campbell's performance as leader of the Liberal Democrats remains unconvincing. Under Campbell's lethargic leadership, the party has yet to take advantage of the ailing fortunes of the Labour government: indeed, a recent ICM opinion poll for The Guardian evidenced that Campbell is now less popular than his party – support for the Liberal Democrats falls when the leader's name is mentioned - an almost unprecedented occurrence in Liberal history (Grimond, Ashdown, even Kennedy experienced the opposite effect). But while the leader remains a problem, he is not the problem: the party continues to lack a compelling vision of contemporary liberalism – all the more disconcerting in the face of David Cameron's overtures to liberal Britain – and a coherent strategy for dealing with a rejuvenated opposition.

– Sir Menzies has contributed little to the crucial debates on the role and size of the state and on Britishness initiated by Brown and Cameron; and on the environment, for so long a benchmark liberal cause, the Lib Dems have not been able to stem the impression that this is now very much Tory territory, despite Chris Huhne and Vincent Cable's impressive green tax package. Whereas Cameron suggested that Conservatism is naturally about conservation, the Lib Dems have offered no grounding as to why environmental awareness is a distinctively liberal attitude (i.e. Conservatism may be about conserving, but Liberalism is about nurturing...).

– The Liberal Democrats remain on course to lose a substantial number of seats at the next general election, a situation brought about in part because the public still do not have any real understanding about what the party stands for. Subsequently, Lib Dems stand accused of offering different hymn-sheets to different audiences, a situation that will continue until the party articulates the philosophy that inspires and drives policy, and until this philosophy rests in the public consciousness as a set of guiding principles. (For more on this, see the Towards a Liberal Future document from March 2006).

– Campbell promised a review of the campaigns department, yet Lord Rennard remains as dominant as ever. Under Rennard, despite occasional by-election triumphs, the party failed to take advantage of acute public disillusionment in 2005 to make a real breakthrough, and in terms of votes cast, the party polled no more support than in 1992, the first election it fought as Liberal Democrats. The manner in which the Liberal Democrats gained seats at the last election also raises further questions about the long-term sustainability of the party’s support. 31% of those who voted Lib Dem at the last election say they wouldn’t have done so if they thought the party would sit in government; and 25% of Lib Dem voters say they would have voted Labour had it not been for Iraq (Source: Nuffield election study). Neither Iraq nor tuition fees – the latter of which was an instrumental issue in six seats (Bristol, Cambridge, Leeds NW, Manchester W, Cardiff C, Ceredigion) – are likely to feature prominently next time.

– Campbell's strength is said to be international affairs, but in contrast with his tenure as shadow foreign secretary, his recent statements on British foreign policy (“Foreign affairs is a world of relative values”) leave something to be desired: he appears to have abandoned the ‘liberal internationalism’ cultivated under the popular leadership of Paddy Ashdown, when the party was a trailblazer – particularly over Kosovo – for a foreign policy “with an ethical dimension”. It is also notable that Campbell has adopted the policy of troop withdrawal in Iraq which he so relentlessly attacked during the leadership contest.

Sir Menzies must do more in the coming months to demonstrate why the Liberal Democrats offer a ‘real alternative’ and why they are deserving of a role in coalition government. After a sustained period of stagnation, it is time for the party to re-engage the country with an ambitious liberal agenda.

The Liberal is not affiliated with the Liberal Democrats, although previous Lib Dem. contributors include Sir Menzies Campbell, Dr. Vincent Cable, Baroness Shirley Williams, Nick Clegg, Chris Huhne and Susan Kramer.

For further information, or to contact the Editor, call (020) 8444 1944.