In Britain, Joining Coalition Government With Conservatives Has Just About Destroyed the Country’s 3rd Party

How Selfish Personal Ambition Has Killed an Entire Political Party

[Editor's note:  In a recently concluded by-election, what we call a special election, the Lib Dem party won the seat.  But the seat was a safe seat and the Lib Dem vote was down sharply since 2010.   The ruling Conservative Party, third behind the fringe group UKIP.]

In 2010 when the Conservative Party in Britain won a large victory but was short a majority of Parliament, they invited the Liberal Democratic Party to join them as a coalition partner.  Now the political philosophy of these two parties was polar opposite, but the promise of minor ministerial places in the government for the party leaders made the Lib Dems agree to be a junior partner.

Voters are not stupid, even in spite of some evidence to the contrary.  (Yes, Minnesota continues to send Michele Bachmann to the Congress, so some voters are stupid).  The fact that the Lib Dems gave up their principles for a small amount of power and a couple of nice jobs for the leaders was not lost on voters.  The devastation is now almost complete.

For the first time in its monthly polls for The Independent, ComRes puts Nick Clegg's party in fourth place behind the UK Independence Party. The Liberal Democrats are on just eight per cent, down two points on last month, while Ukip is on nine per cent (down one point).

Yes, they are behind the Ukip, a party of ultra nationalism, anti-immigration, a party that thinks Britain is a country only for Anglo Saxon descendents and that the rest of humanity if sub-human. 

According to ComRes, Labour has extended its seven-point lead last month to 12 points, its biggest since 2005 in a ComRes poll for this paper. Labour is now on 43 per cent and the Conservatives on 31 per cent (down one point). Other parties are on nine per cent (no change). The Tories' standing may have been damaged by the news on Friday evening that the ratings agency Moody's had downgraded the UK's triple-A credit rating.

If repeated on a uniform swing at a general election, these figures would give Labour an overall majority of 122. The Liberal Democrats would lose 39 seats, leaving them with just 18 MPs.

So yes Lib Dems, if you are behind that party you must be doing something wrong.  You just are not getting the message.  When you do get the message the messenger will know where to find you, at home having been turned out of office.  It is hard for politicians to violate their principles, having very little to violate, but you are managing to do so.  Congrats.