What I wrote at Lib Dem Voice

January 25, 2006

28 MPs, 5 MEPs, 35 Peers, 4 MSPs, 2 AMs, 69 councillors and 413 other party members

Ming Campbell's list of supporters has now been published on his campaign website. Size isn't everything (but it helps in elections).

UPDATE: it's grown. Headline amended accordingly.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting to see David Laws MP there - given that he's rumoured to be defecting. Why would you bother officially nominating someone in the leadership election if you were going to leave? That said, I guess that some people may leave depending on the outcome of the leadership election.

Peter Pigeon said...

A heartening list - I spotted a number of old friends, and some people I haven't seen for ages.

Martin Tod said...

It's actually 5 MEPs since Emma Nicholson wears two hats! And it's 77 councillors. And now 412 other members.

Guido Fawkes said...

Anon,

Why wouldn't he?

Anonymous said...

Guido, why wouldn't he be preparing to leave before the election if he's nominating a candidate in the leadership election - is that what you're asking? Why would he bother to nominate Ming in such circumstances? For all I know, he may be preparing to leave if Hughes wins, but it would seem odd to me to nominate a candidate but not be willing to stick it out to see the outcome. That said, you've got to be a pretty desperate opportunist to defect to the Tories, so who knows.

Peter Black said...

It is actually one AM and one GLAM!

Martin Tod said...

Peter. The person in question was quite insistent that GLAM is only used inside the Liberal Democrats! Interestingly the legal name for the body appears to be the London Assembly - which would mean that GLAM is definitely wrong - there is a Greater London Authority, but the body Assembly Members sit on is the London Assembly - and so the 'G' is a definite non-starter. Whether it's MLA or LAM or AM, the Department for Constitutional Affairs fails to make clear at http://www.dca.gov.uk/dept/titles.htm Martin

Martin Tod said...

Now we're up to 28 MPs, 5 MEPs, 35 Peers, 4 MSPs, 1 Welsh Assembly Member, 1 GLA Member, 112 Councillors, 17 Council Group Leaders and 460 Party Members

Anonymous said...

Angus J Huck, Mezies Campbell is hardly Michael Foot. If some Lib Dem MP is preparing to defect to the Tories and to damage his/her old party before doing so, look at the supporters of the candidate who would benefit the Tories most if elected as the Lib Dem leader, Simon Hughes.

Anyway, I think it really strange to speculate Davis Laws defecting. He didn't defect when the Conservative Party was more economically liberal, so why he defect now, when David Cameron has estranged his party from the ideas Laws presented in the Orange Book?