How long will Nick Clegg remain as leader of the Lib Dems?
Take part in the PB Wisdom Survey
On the face of it the party leader whose position is most precarious is Nick Clegg whose party has seen a dramatic decline since the heady days of the 2010 general election.
The Lib Dem polling position has collapsed most of all in the News International funded YouGov daily survey but other surveys have pointed in the same downwards direction. Even the last poll from the firm that has consistently shown the highest yellow shares, ICM, had the party down to just 11%
In the London mayoral election last month the Lib Dem candidate slumped to fourth and in local elections throughout Britain on the same day the party lost half the council seats that it was defending. The prospects for the general election look dire whether the new boundaries are approved or not.
-
A real issue is that there’s been a heavy reliance on Labour tactical voting in CON-LD contests.
So a big danger for Clegg could come if the view develops that another leader might be able to keep more of this support on board.
My reading of Clegg is that he’s got great resilience and is determined to see this through. His hope, though, of the coalition being seen to have pulled round the economy by May 2015 looks more remote than it did.
What do you think? Cast your vote in the latest “Wisdom of PB” survey.
Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB
