So, Campbell is gone. Does it make a blind bit of difference? Will we ever see the day when the Lib Dems stand a hope in hell of forming a government?

[MyTwopenceworth]

Or are they forever more to be Alsorans?

Probably not, if only for the sole reason that they lack funding to get their message across.
They had a stellar chance a few years back, didn't they but, they couldn't capitalise on it.

They have no chance without electoral reform. I thought Labour had promised to look at when they first got elected but am not surprised that nothing has changed.
With the first past the post system , many of us live in 'safe seats' where our votes (often for the Lib Dems ) count for nothing. No wonder there is voter apathy!

i think the impact will be more how many voters will they gain from tories/labour once they have (yet another) new leader

poor old ming, he wasn't really up to it. they lost alot of ground when they really could have made it. the lib dems are too polite for their own good they gave hime the job cos the 'deserved' it rather than because he was the best man. i hope Chris Huhne gets it and they can start fighting back.

I persuaded dp, my sister and her dp to vote for the lib dems instead of Blair's New Labour in my consituency last time and the Tories got in by a very narrow margin. i've not heard the end of it...

I don't think they get enough press coverage to become major contenders. They were brave enough to speak out against the Iraq war and that gained them popularity. They need more 'liberal' stances on issues like that to make them stand out.

I don't think that's why he got the job at all. I think he got the job because the young centre-right wanted a bit of consolidation time. So they backed him to see off Huhne, because Ming's experience and 'gravitas' would give him an edge that CLegg or Davey woudn't have had.

Now they will back Clegg, and take the party to the right. Nothing polite at all about this assasination IMO. I think he's been used.

I agree with TellusMater. Hope he's gone for a nice brisk walk with Elspeth today

I don't agree with the definition of Clegg as 'right' I think he's a bit more complex than that. He's not Simon Hughes granted...

Really?

Not right as in Tebbit, but centre right of the Lib Dems. I think so.

Although not being Simon Hughes is a point in his favour...

But what is centre right of the Lib Dems? I think it's just a label and not very helpful, after all we don't know that much about what he thinks about most issues, we'll find that out between now and election.