Genuinely feeling mortified for Jo Swinson

[Considermesometimes]

Wow that was kick in the balls if ever I have seen one. Jesus how absolutely humiliating. I was curling up just watching the footage last night, and then the clip about her claims that she will be PM.

Just mortifying on every level.

I hope she is able to leave with a shred of dignity, because I am not sure she is ever going to recover her creditability after last night's carnage. She was seriously out of touch, and she paid the ultimate price.

[Nanny0gg]

Going by what I've heard today, I don't think the interim leadership has learned any lessons.

[PineappleDanish]

This is my constituency. It was SNP in 2015, then back to Lib Dem in 2917, back to SNP tonight. Small majority.

From a local perspective i think she has been damaged by both the general swing to the nationalists definitely. However, there is a general feeling that she's never here. It's no secret she lives somewhere like Bath with her DH and kids. Her son is in school there. Yes her mum lives locally and she was educated locally but she's moved away.

The SNP candidate made a big play of bring a local woman in touch with local issues and that win her votes.

Stirgeon's reaction was disgusting.

[goldfinchfan]

She should have given her support to women.

[ArnoldWhatshisknickers]

I don’t believe it had anything to do with Lib Dems’ remain stance or “ignoring 17.4 million people”

It didn't. Scotland, as we showed yet again yesterday, is utterly opposed to brexit.

Her stance against independence even after hard brexit wouldn't have helped though. Nor her lack of interest in the constituency she was supposed to be representing. Nor her 'woke' bollocks.

But being against brexit? That was in her favour.

[Dontsweatthelittlestuff]

Was this a kick in her lady balls?

And I never thought I would agree with Diana abbot but “yes. Get in there” just about sums it up

[PegasusReturns]

She threw women under the bus.

Many are scared to speak out, they fear for their livelihoods and their safety.

But the number that believe in self ID are tiny and they showed that yesterday.

[DontCallMeDarling]

I feel bad for her, as it was a tough seat to hold when you are having to campaign on issues that are England centric and are attacking Labour and Conservatives yet your own biggest threat is SNP.

I think another referendum on Scottish Independence is inevitable now. And regardless of your politics, it is crazy that the Lib Dems can increase their vote share from 2017 yet do worse.

[ClaraThePigeon]

No it's definitely nothing to do with them being pro remain. East Dunbartonshire is/was very strongly pro remain.

I'm glad that she's gone for that reason too(and others) but she's hardly the only individual who doesn't give a shit about women's spaces and rights. Most of the other parties are little better, so I don't feel particularly triumphant . And there still isn't as much awareness of the issue as there should be amongst the general population, in spite of the incredible efforts of so many feminists.

[TalbotAMan]

Politics is a rough game. You play it at your own risk.

[MyNewHairdryer]

She should have never been elected LD leader; totally out of her depth.

[PineappleDanish]

Also although the gender self id thing is a huge topic of debate on Mn and rightly so, it's not something voters locally are talking about.

Here the choice was far more independence vs remain, or another brexit referendum.

[Tanith]

The party set her up with their "Jo Swinson's Liberal Democrats" tag. I think they knew they'd lose and needed a convenient scapegoat.

[Trewser]

Yes I don't believe gender/sex self id had anything to do with it, apart from making her sound weak generally. It will have been brexit.

[Alanis126]

Some of these comments are appalling. She is a young leader, has generally progressive views and put herself out there at a time when political leaders have never got more flak. She didn't deserve to suffer like this and if all the keyboard warriors om here think they'd be better well you know what to do. The mental health being a London thing is plain repulsive and ignorant.

[YouSawThePlans]

I think Sturgeon was celebrating the SNP win. I find it odd and sexist that the Daily Mail is pushing the story that Nicola wasn't being 'sisterly' to Jo. Nicola was being sisterly to her female colleague who took the seat. Why would anyone expect her to be sad about an SNP win?

As for Jo, I have friends who live in her constituency, they've always said she was a rubbish constituency MP. When my friend's DM was very ill, she still forced herself out of bed to go to vote for anyone who had a chance of defeating Jo.

[Trewser]

tiny violin

We didn't need a young leader learning on the job. We needed someone who knew what they were doing.

[MarieIVanArkleStinks]

Emailed message to would-be party member: 'Unless you wholesale swallow the mantra that TWAW, fuck off out of our party and keep your membership fee. BTW, we don't want your vote either'.

Yeah, a real vote-stealer. The loss of her seat was one of the few bright spots of the night!

[ClaraThePigeon]

Yes I don't believe gender/sex self id had anything to do with it, apart from making her sound weak generally. It will have been brexit.

Not in East Dunbartonshire, no. We're strongly pro remain.

[GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER]

Her talk of being PM made her sound frankly deluded.
And all the CIS stuff must have alienated so many women. Whether she will realise that in her determination to be 'woker than woke' is another matter.

Having said that, the LD candidate in our constituency won by a big margin last night. Last time the Tory candidate scraped in by only 45 votes, so that may be a tiny crumb of comfort for JS.

[cottonwoolbrain]

Lib Dem member here. Suffice to say I did not vote for Swinson in leadership election. In my view she was too inexperienced, too arrogant and not inclined enough to listen to views of members. She also had views PPs have alluded to that I could not agree with

I'm not exactly ecstatic about losing our party leader but I'm not shedding any tears either.

On a human level though I felt sorry for her as I did most of those from whatever party who lost their seat last night. .Election campaigns are gruelling experiences physically, mentally and often financially and a massively public loss at the end of it all is a very hard thing to deal with.

[MarieIVanArkleStinks]

As to her 'progressive' views, the serious issues affecting women's autonomy, protected spaces and rights to self-identification ('adult human female' now having become taboo-phrase-non-grata) are about as regressive as it gets.

[MockersFactCheckMN]

The Where-Are-They-Now list of ex LibDem MPs shows they have very good connections. I'm feeling more sorry for the staff she'll have to lay off before she gets something cushy in the charity sector or a big corporate.

Alternatively, I think Sarah Teather became a nun.

[cosima1]

Well I’m in a LD borough of London (this seat has just been taken from Zac Goldsmith) and no, I don’t think she has anything to be ashamed of. This is politics. She stood for what she believed in and good for her. What more can you do? The electoral system was always stacked against her -she knew that - and it would have been the same battle for any LD leader. Shame she lost her seat, but Scottish politics are what they are and JS is hardly the only one to have list her seat to the SNP, is she?

Why not give the woman a break and focus on the fact we now have a PM who won’t even admit to how many children he’s fathered? Or Is that ok because he’s a man? The hypocrisy on here is ridiculous sometimes. As for “Party of the People”, BJ wouldn’t know who “the people” are if they slapped him in the face.

[feelingverylazytoday]

Pineapple just because people weren't talking about doesn't mean they weren't thinking about it.
No I don't feel sorry for her. She's a politician, take the rough with the smooth.

[CatherineOfAragonsPrayerBook]

At least Jo Swinson now knows what a woman is -

an adult human female with a vote

I'm dead!

Damn right! It was the one sweet moment of this entire mess.