Jon Bright (London, OK): Poor Ming Campbell has bowed to the inevitable and resigned with immediate effect, the Beeb tells me. What went wrong for him? The Lib Dems were obviously spooked by how much of a hit they might have taken in the election that never was. But why couldn't he keep their good polls going?
Some might say he didn't have it in him. The presentation was wrong - appearing old and out of touch. Or was he a victim of circumstance? The space opened by years of Iraq war and Tory haplessness has been closed recently - Cameron has put the Tory machine back together, whilst the hated 'Bliar' of many an anti-war march has gone. I personally think Ming has been done over more by the loss of the protest votes which buoyed their last election - these were never hard Liberal converts - than by his inherent incapability. But in our political system all the power in a party is vested in the body of its leader - and with it all the responsibility. Did he pay the price for events beyond his control?
