If I remember correctly, the Lib Dem logo is supposed to represent the “bird of liberty”. Seen from the angle of a twitchy Tory MP, it resembles a yellow vulture. The thing the Lib Dems have excelled at is swooping down when opportunity presents itself to stick their beaks into the rotting carcass of the Conservative party.
They’ve gobbled up four Tory parliamentary seats at byelections during Sir Ed Davey’s time as leader and gained more than 600 council seats, the vast majority of them at the expense of the Conservatives. This haul of Tory carrion is a cause of self-congratulation at the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth. It is also a source of encouragement that they can remove more Tory MPs at the general election, the task that Sir Ed describes as his “main job”. The Lib Dems are less keen to think about their rating in the opinion polls. For the past 12 months, they’ve been bobbling along at a consistently underwhelming nine to 12 points. Haven’t we done well, they are saying to one another at the gathering on the south coast. A more ambitious party would be asking itself: why are we not doing better?
