Lembit calls for Clegg's head.

Watching the Politics show yesterday was brilliant. Just to see former Montgomery MP (and failed LIbDem nominee for London Mayor) Lembit Öpik,  promote his new book 'The Alternative View: A Way Back For The Liberal Democrats'. (co-written by Ed Joyce) on the future of the Liberal Democrats in which he s called for the resignation of Nick Clegg.

He said.

"There's no point in pulling our punches. After a year of research, [we] have concluded that Nick cannot realistically lead the party into the next election without incurring an additional contraction in the number of MPs - directly as a result of his leadership," he said.
"We have also identified the lack of a political narrative which was left the party drifting in an identity vacuum while, by contrast, the Conservatives have been remarkably effective at maintaining their focus and image."

Basically Lembit wants Clegg tc continue as Deputy Prime Minister whilst the LibDems elect a new leader to serve concurrently and at the end of the current coalition governed return to Europe as an EU commissioner.

A senior Liberal Democrat source described the book's conclusions as "complete nonsense".
"Like many of Lembit's views, this is not one that's shared by the majority of Liberal Democrats," he said.

Lib Dem MP Duncan Hames said of the book though: "A weighty tome, it's not as laughable at as you might expect."

OK . It looks like the workings of a bitter man and Lembit  Öpik,  is beginning to resemble Harold Davidson, the saviour of London prostitutes,Who apprantley  was found to be saving a few for himself. The defrocked vicar quit the parish became a lion tamer and was subsequently mauled to death by one of his charges in Skegness in 1937

Of course Lembit didn't end his career in disgrace but in humiliation but he seems to be doing anything to attract publicity though at the moment hasn't stuck his head in a Lion's mouth.

Nevertheles I can't help wondering whether Lebit's book might get more attraction after the May elections.

With an Impressive 3078 councilors out of  20,678 throughout Wales,England and Scotland and are a good third..The fear must be that they will be decimated in May, (Though I think decimated will mean more that 1/10 here) as they were in similar contest in 2011.

The problem for the LibDems is that Local government in many ways is more important to them than the Tories and Labour. Who when in power have seen really bad nights where they've lost thousands of councilorsand control of important councils . Only to win the next General Election.

The LibDems in the past have been the beneficiaries  of disillusionment with both  Labour  and Tories Government and combined with an assiduous  use of "pavement politics" can gradually build up a precense in a ward then by "salami tactics" win control of a council for which the well organised Association of Liberal Democratic Councillors  ALDC plays no small part  which is a model for other parties.

So where Labour and the Tories at Westminster can shrug of  huge losses of councils and control of councils. For the LibDems it could result in a major panic, especially since I believe they get a great deal of donations from a "Tithe"on Councillor allowances). This could lead to a huge loss of income and their ability to recover.

So perhaps Nick Clegg should be checking his fellow MPs and Peers bags this summer as they pack for the holidays to ensure that they are not carrying a copy of 'The Alternative View: A Way Back For The Liberal Democrats'. By Lembit Öpik, and giving them a copy the "The Troublesome Priest a biography of Harold Davidson" by Jonathan Tucker (Michael Russell Publishing, 2007) instead