ASTONISHING TIMES

The political situation is extraordinary. For the opinion polls to move by as much as 14 points overnight in favour of one party is unprecedented. And for it to happen in favour of the Liberal Democrats is a delight It reveals just how many people would prefer not to have to vote for David Cameron as an alternative to Gordon Brown, and just how much latent support there is for our party that comes to light only when we get the rare opportunity to be treated as equals.

I am revelling in having been a Clegg-for-Leader advocate from the day he told me that he wanted to stand for the House of Commons (after I had failed to dissuade him from leaving Brussels that is). As I now occupy Nick’s former office in the European Parliament maybe I should try to raise party funds by charging visitors to see it.

The enthusiasm should be savoured and bottled for it will not last. I have no doubt that Nick will do well in the next debates but expectations of him are now completely unreasonable. If he defends the principles and policies of the party then he will inevitably lose some support – they would not be principles worth fighting for if our opponents agreed with them.

A TARGETING STRATEGY WITH LIMITS

An election system that does not give equal value to every vote has for many decades prevented the Liberal Democrats from exerting real influence over government policy. The outrageous insult to democracy demonstrated by the Liberals winning 18% of the votes yet less than 2% of the seats in February 1974 was the spur that made me apply for membership. More recently the scale of our under representation has been reduced. At the last election we won some 20% of the votes and more than 9% of the seats. Not fair, but less awful.

The success of the Liberal Democrats’ targeting strategy has been hailed as one reason for the improvement. We have concentrated our money and resources into a limited number of target seats where we have the greatest chance of making a breakthrough. For the most part the target seats are self-evident, they are the places where we have won more than 50% of the places on the local council, gaining electoral credibility from people knowing that when they vote Liberal Democrat they often get Liberal Democrats elected. This is usually achieved between general elections not at them.

But targeting has its limits. It has not really sunk into the consciousness of party members outside the targets. Once a general election is called a great proportion of local activists (not that we have many in the first place) feel obliged to campaign locally. They want to make a creditable effort, or perhaps “frighten” the incumbent Tory MP. A mist comes over their eyes that blinds them to the reality that a ‘creditable’ third place counts for absolutely nothing. It’s an utter defeat. If there are no prizes for coming second do you have to give them away yourself if you come third?

Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats in a target seat just a short distance away may be crying out for extra help that could make all the difference between victory and a near miss, yet too often they can’t get their neighbours to set aside their local loyalties.

In Warrington South, where I am giving a bit of help myself, we are working to build the necessary bridges. By letter and telephone we are trying to explain the necessity for the approach. By encouraging some teams from Cheshire constituencies each to “adopt” a South Warrington ward we are trying to create an alternative element of loyalty.

Maybe the targeting ball is starting to move in our favour. Whether it gains momentum, and allows us to demonstrate that targeting is more than just a word, remains to be seen.

THE CANVASSING EXPERIENCE (1)

I have started canvassing for the general election and have been joined by Sarah, my assistant in the European Parliament, who is French and has taken a few days holiday to experience the British political culture. I introduced her to the art of election canvassing and she proved to be a natural.

We were in a Lib Dem held seat and the MP took Sarah away from the main road down a short cul-de-sac.

They returned to the canvassing team and the MP gave the details to the person holding the board: "First house, Lib Dem and will take a poster. Second house, I think the gentleman had just soiled himself. Election discussions were not appropriate."

"I went to the third house," said Sarah. "The man there was stoned out of his mind. The smell of weed just poured out of the door. He said he used to vote Lib Dem but can't remember when."

I think the BBC 10 o'clock news should tell us what it is like in the real world of politics.

NO COALITION

Nick Clegg has proved himself a class political act with his strategy in the event of a hung parliament.

No coalition, but voting support for either larger party in return for commitments to promote the education of those on the lowest rung, reform the tax system to reduce income inequalities, boost the green economy (environmentalism and bash the bankers), and to introduce a fairer voting system.

So Liberal Democrats can now talk about issues they care about rather than answering questions about which other party they might support.

If the finesse works a treat we even get the others talking about OUR agenda and how far they would go to meet it.

Very neat.