I've not been able to go over to Ealing because of work commitments, which has made me reluctant to blog about the by-elections this week. However I've been annoyed by those bloggers and other commentators who are trying to build the next few days into a make-or-break time for Ming. I don't want to see any more blog posts for a while about leadership contests, nor to get emails about currently inactive MPs websites. It's time to let off a little steam....
Essentially , I'm not convinced that these by-elections are any kind of reflection on Ming's ability as leader. Last year we managed to win Dunfermline without any leader at all. This time we have a , a , a - let's call it a pantomine - in Ealing with the Lib Dems at least keeping their dignity and honesty, and another by-election in a seat that was just held by a 10-year prime minister.
I don't think you can judge Ming's ability by the result of either by-election. They are both unusual constituencies.
Ming wasn't my first choice as leader. He doesn't attract the floating voting the way that Charles Kennedy did. Not one resident mentioned him to me in the local elections in May (and this was in wards where we did very well). On the other hand, Cameron was mentioned only once - when a resident compared him to a double glazing salesman. And no mention is better than a negative mention...
The situation seems now to be that the Tories are lagging behind in the polls, and Cameron's party may soon experience the horrific nightmare of losing again. Remember all the talk of LiberalsForCameron, all those defectors he was going to get ? Those blue dreams are starting to fade. It may be that Ming will outlast Cameron....
Gosh, I hope we have a good day on Thursday. But whether we win or lose, It won't change my view of Ming, or my belief that this isn't the time to think about leadership challenges.
3 comments:
Absolutely. Well said Chris. This collective mithering's been pathetic and just wrong. I'm no fan of the cult of leadership full stop and it's a matter of record that I wasn't a Ming supporter in the leadership election, just as I was never a Kennedy supporter in the previous one, but one of the things about being in a democratic party is that we stand behind our collective decision. From people I speak to, I hear Ming's been quite inspirational recently at events like that one in Bedford geeing up the PCA and so on.
I agree with you Chris and with Jock. I have been a member for twenty five years and have not yet given my first preference vote to a party leader. I have always been happy enough though with the leaders we got and will not be at all surprised to see Ming outlast Cameron.
I must echo this.
Admittedly I supported Ming in the leadership, but even if I hadn't I'd be taking this view.
I don't understand why people are trying to make this such an issue. True we're not going anywhere in the polls, but we cannot just to a 'Tory party' and depose the leader because of that.
I think some people are just natural malcontents... (or trying to up their blog hits - or is that too cynical?)
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