it was a bad night in manchester for lib dems.
But it wasnt a brilliant night for labour either.
I think labour got good local candidates with strong local following in the seats they gained, because thet got big swings in those wards.
One ,for instance, was the mayor's daughter and she no doubt benefitted (quite properly) from that.
And of course, with such low turnouts a candidate who can call on such support is likely to win. 500 extra followers can turn things on their head.
That matters. I've always argued that john leech won so well because he has developed a strong personal local following.
so good for labour in those 4 wards. But nationally it was a disaster for them. Theyre in a mess. The parliamentary party is imploding in a mixtures of arrogance, corrupt practice and cat-fights.
And now that you have John Reid acting as blair's de facto spokesman you're going to see bare knuckle bouts. He was at it in radio today calling anybody wanting a change of leadership "from another planet". Does that clown not realise just how bad a picture that paints of labour?
Putting any political bias to one side, the last thing we need is a governing party at war with itself. All moral authority disappears.
