Ruled out
Vince Cable - acting leader of the Lib Dems following Sir Menzies' resignation - has told me this morning that he will NOT be a candidate for the leadership of the party.
He said that given, "the current irrational prejudice about age" he had concluded that, "an older candidate is not electable". Mr Cable is 64 - two years younger than Sir Menzies. He added that he will not support any other candidate, as he believes it is his duty to focus on being the acting leader for the next eight weeks - beginning at today's Prime Minister's Questions.
I'm 
Comments
Nick,
I just don't buy this Lib Dem line that it was all about 'age'. Sure it was probably a factor, but surely the Lib Dems elected Ming as their Leader in the full knowledge that a General Election may or may not take place until May 2010? If we are to believe them that 'age' was the sole issue then it says very little for the voting intellect of the average Lib Dem member and does not bode well for their impending election.
I don't think there's any ageism among the overwhelming majority of voters. They recognised the value age can bring to the table. The problem, as can be seen by Menzies Campbell's comments and Nick's topic, is that politicians and the media have a hang-up on age. You guys really, really need to get a grip. The poll driven insecurity of politicians and ratings conscious media are writing ego cheques reality can't cash. Give it a rest, please.
I've got a bit bored with drilling into stories until every ounce of bounce has been squeezed out of them. I know you've got a job to do and a career to maintain, but can you add a little bit more variety into your topics, Nick. I'm pretty sure politicians and the public would get a kick out of something with a bit more zing and less hysteria attached to it. Scrutiny is fine to a point but how about giving people a bit of rope for a change?
I coined the phrase "Broken Britain" in this blog many months ago, and your own lecture on the media raised some very important issues. Life is about order and balance, goals and teamwork, ability and opportunity, and both the politicians or media have found it hard to step beyond their problems. I think, things will continue to improve as calm and consensus becomes more fashionable but you could give it a little more help.
Cable's right of course. Had he been following a young leader who had completely cocked things up due his inexperience, he would have been a shoo-in for the job - but that's politics for you.
If the LDs do now get a young leader, and s/he does indeed make a mess of things, I would expect the pendulum to swing back the other way next time, in which case a still-relatively-young-old-stager like Nick Harvey would be very handily placed.
Ageism is so widespread that legislation has been an issue for over 20 years.
In some ways it sems as odd as racism or sexism, but these tendancies are truly in the perceptions of us all I believe, however we may manage to edit them out.
It doesn't follow that great or lesser age will be seen as a problem when all is well.
Harold Wilson when first PM seemed impossibly young to many; others viewed him as old, and Mary Quant thought him "dishy." At that stage Wislon's health and vigour set him apart from Sir Alec Douglas-Hume, Jo Grimmond too maybe.
Now Ming the Methusaleh was set alongside two other party leaders, one the PM with a young family, and the other the principal opposition leader with a young family, and a man who has fought cancer really always would look old in that context.
Why is it supposed that malice occurs more frequently without consideration of 5 minutes duration?
Surely the opposite is true, malice takes time to come to effective fruition?
Conservatives used to believe that most things worthwhile took time it is true.
Lets be honest.
Lib Dems - so what?
Without PR they are nothing; and as long as they are nothing there will be no PR.
The current deception makes liars of all party members and the press.
'Prepare for government'; 'We can Win'; 'I will lead the party to power'... All lies, but with the conivence of the party and the press.
We have a two party system - lets admit it and ask the public if that is OK - if the public are OK with that then fine; but if not then we need a bit of a revolution.
At Prime Minister鈥檚 Question Time Gordon Brown offered this helpful advice.
Answering a question from Vince Cable
Gordon Brown, Paid tribute to Sir Menzies Campbell.
He then congratulated Vince Cable on his temporary Leadership of the Lib. Dems.
He then said 鈥淚f things continue at the present rate of change in this parliament鈥.
鈥淓very single Liberal Member will have the chance to be MEMBER of the Liberal Party鈥.
..which roughly translates as 'I know I'm not going to win'. After his performance at PMQs yesterday where he did nothing but embarrass himself, I don't think many Lib Dems will be crying over this announcement.
Mngz Campbell was elected at 64. Why shouldn't Vngz Cabell be?
No-one seems to be getting very excited about this news item. Is that simply an indication of the general apathy, or is it because the lib dems are just not very interesting>
The last Lib Dem Leadership election was precipitated by the former Leader's alcoholism and also had their leading politicians being outed as using male prostututes, or being bi-sexual, or old and boring, or dating the Cheeky Girls (albeit prob one at a time) and piloting light aircraft which arrived too late to bring a candidate to some meeting or other.
Now you can delay malice no doubt, as this site does: but schadenfreude is unstoppable and really took off on that occassion.
It would take something really big to make this anything much, apart from a political contest between similarly minded candidates wouldn't it?
"Wizz o' Oz in Lion, Tinman & Scarecrow Shocker?"
Noooo, just get used to relatively normal.