91Èȱ¬

The problem was never Menzies Campbell's age or the media. The problem was Menzies Campbell trying to be too clever and whining about other political parties. I can't think of anyone I know who says different, and the prevailing wind of comments in Nicks blog reflects that. He was blinded by his own ego and is sticking to his story in his final moments as leader. If he was less arrogant and partisan he would appreciate this. Empty your mind, grasshopper!

I believed, and still believe, that removing Saddam Hussein was a short-term mistake. Saddam had a savage upbringing in a difficult country, and his leadership reflected that. Better advice and support from the international community would have been more likely to create a better outcome. Likewise, if other politicians and the media had taken a smarter approach, it's possible that Menzies Campbell would still be leader. Nonetheless, he still has a personal responsibility.

Three strikes and you're out is an ancient wisdom dangling over the Liberal Party. I'm not persuaded that Nick Clegg is a suitable replacement. He may be young and charismatic but he doesn't strike me as being the serious and long-term thinker the Liberals need. Menzies Campbell could have fulfilled this role if he hadn't bought his own propaganda, but my money remains on Chris Huhne. If he calms down and is more consensual he may help the Liberals through their Clause 4 moment.

I am a Conservative voter, but I think his party have treated Ming quite disgracefully and this may well lose them votese

What a depressing week in British politics. First Brown slumps in the polls because apparently avoiding political suicide is nowadays considered a weakness, and then an experienced and able leader is forced to resign because his hair isn't sleek enough. The only winner of the past ten days is "Call me Dave", who did nothing more than dangle an unaffordable tax cut in front of voters' eyes. What a shame that after ten years of Blairism it's still style, not substance, that impresses the electorate.

His silence as Charlie-boy was extracted from the Leadership of their party was surely a key factor in Kennedy's passing?

Campbell should have stood against Kenendy when Ashdown departed.

Sometime it is too late.

What surprises me is the naked ambition of some of the candidates, only matched by their low profile and lack of experience or talent. Susan Kramer for example has only been an MP since 2005. No doubt they will claw each other to pieces. No power, nor responsibility the perogative of the Liberal Democrat through the ages.

How do you tell someone who's insisting that they want to go on and on - to go? When a leader is no longer seen as an asset or there is doubt about their ability to win elections, it's goodnight from him and goodnight from her.

Now he knows how Charles Kennedy felt.

He will be judged favourably in the same way that John Smith is, but he hasnt effected anything like enough change on his party that a modern leader must do to keep his job. Its inertia that cost him.

Thank you Nick for such a splendid example of just the sort of journalism Ming is objecting to. His having refused to answer a question, you make up an answer of your own and present is as implied fact. A betrayal of Ming's trust in granting you an interview - but, what the heck, whoever met a journalist with a single scrap of integrity ?

Once again the media continue to push their own agenda, regardless of the real picture. When Ming said that he, and he alone, made the decision to go i believed him. It's about time that the media started reporting the news rather than trying to force their own views on us.

On the bright side his his autobiographer has just become a lot more interestin. Marketing ploy maybe....

What happened to the firm statement last night about not giving any interviews on his resignation Nick?!

It's a pity criticism of Sir Menzies concentrated on his appearance of age. The problem was not his age but the fact he was entirely unsuited to leadership of a political party. In future, parties will be wary of experienced leaders and that's a shame; age in no way necessarily diminishes competence. Parties should learn to avoid choosing lacklustre leaders not mature competent ones.

I'm not a Liberal, never have been. I sometimes don't

But for Sir Menzies, I make the time to listen. He strikes me as having conviction - of being sincere.

#1, are you really trying to compare Gordon Brown with Menzies Campbell? Are the two alike in any way?

It seems incredible that a leader for so long applauded (and rightly so) for his undoubted "gravitas" and "statesmanlike qualities" to parliamentary politics - both direct quotes from senior Lib-Dems - has found his position untenable on account of his age. It is an indictment of a Party, a political system, a media and a society at large that considers a person's age and perceived 'limitations' above those of their actual qualities and experience.

Following the several weeks of internal turmoil in the winter of 2005/06, it is fair to say that the Lib-Dems 'drifted' under Campbell. Spectacular by-election results have been matched only by disasterous local election poll defeats. Yet it is likely that this episode will be far more damaging than any of the revelations that emerged before Ming took over.

Nick, how often have you, or 91Èȱ¬ colleagues, used the word "energy" in news reports about Menzies Campbell? By constantly subliminally refering to his age the media has kept this something he couldn't escape from, and distracted from the important issues of substance and policy. The media, including the 91Èȱ¬, need to look at themselves on this.

This is confirmation that Sir Ming was not stabbed in the back, but assassinated by the constant drip of poison from the media. As soon as he became leader the political journalists decided he was too old and no matter how important the questions he asked at PMQs or the quality of the policies their minds were made up. When 91Èȱ¬ coverage of Prime Minsters Questions more than resembles the scoring at Strictly Come Dancing, judging the MP more on delivery than the relevance of the question it shows how dumbed down coverage of politics has become. The 91Èȱ¬ sent Andrew Neil to the Lib Dem conference and he had a prewritten script - Ming was too old - and there was no variation to it - he went around offering delegates the choice of Nick Clegg or Chris Huhne badges - there was little real coverage of the speeches or discussion of the policies.
Television coverage of politics is now all about personalities rather than ideas - more like tabloid coverage of celebrities. Build them up and then knock them down as dramatically as possible to boost viewing figures or newspaper sales. The Lib Dems have little opportunity to discuss their policies and always journalists would bring up the subjest of Sir Menzies age and his leadership. In todays age when a politicians presentation is more important than his ideas one of Britains great Prime Minsters of the 20th Century, Clement Attlee would never even become a party leader.
Apparently it is now more important to give a speech without notes and be a slick PR man than have good policies and a budget that adds up.

Well, 'best eaten cold' then...

It'll be some time before the LibDems regain stature and composure - probably a couple of years. In the meantime, what of those waverers? They'll be wondering whether they should wait that time before they see any results for their support, or whether they'd better look and go elsewhere.

The stupidity and ambition of just a few individuals has destroyed the immediate future for this party. Which of the candidates is a natural 'leader'? By the time they've finished carving each other up no one will be left standing triumphant.

And who gains from all of this? The LibDems? Cui bono?

Having just watched your interview with Ming, and the subsequent run through of possible candidates-Messrs Huhne & Clegg - one question Nick..Is Nick Clegg really married to Nigella Lawson?

I remind Mr Hardwidge that he was equally vocal in his support for John Reid as the next Labour leader - shortly before Dr Reid resigned from politics altogether, having not even attempted to run for the leadership. You may blow, Mr Hardwidge, but those sails just aren't fluttering...

I'm astonished at the lack of critical analysis by some of these posts.

Ming Campbell resigned because he felt he no longer had the support of his party as confirmed by the comments made by Hughes and Campbell prior.

This is singularly the only reason. He had only recently said he planned to continue to the next election. If you think he's a man of integrity then this should be believed.

He unnexpectedly resigned and showed his anger by not making a statement yesterday and by not speaking to Hughes or Cable either.

The media are not to blame for this. After all Brown and Cameron have been under far more pressure in recent weeks.

I agree that Ming Campbell was the victim of the insidious valuing of certain kinds of style over substance. Press reports almost never failed to dangle innuendos about age, weakness, "leadership" etc. as if they were somehow the 'real story.' A mountain was created from trivia.

By contrast I found Ming Campbell particularly able, intelligent, politically savvy, and usually the first off the mark in response to emerging issues. I - probably like Ming himself - did not recognise him in the press characterisations.

I am struggling with a lot of the logic being used here. The Lib Dems went into the last election with only one message we didn't vote for the Iraq War. And that was it. Their then leader having been exposed as an alcoholic and was sacked partly due to the work done behind closed doors by the "Honourable" Ming. Kennedy we were led to believe was replaced by the man of gravitas, of experience, the man who every tv network brought out and asked Iraq right or wrong Sir Ming? He was allowed an absolute free run on this one issue unchallenged by the tv radio and press on this one issue as it fits their idea of balance. The problem came the moment he became leader. It turned out that he wasn't going to be allowed to simply churn out Iraq was wrong. As the leader of a national party he might just have to have some views on something else. It turned out he didn't have any ideas on anything at all. He looked like a buffoon not a statesman in the Commons. It was the same media tv in particular that had helped create the great statesman that suddenly noticed that he was in fact wearing the Emperors New Clothes. It wasn't the age that counted against him. It was the fact that he was a useless leader who had no honour, no intellect and nothing of any value to say on any issue at any time.

Sad to see him gone.
He was a breath of fresh air compared to
brown/blair/cameron.
At the end of the day darwin was right, we are decended from monkeys. When we pick the alpha male, we choose the younger stronger one.
Not always the good choice.
Unless we improve our educational standards & Media to enable discusion of policies not personalities. Getting rid of mudoch may help too.
Spin & the rush for the centre ground has lead to no real democracy in this country. There is little choice and no guarantee that promises will be honoured. The lib dems have found a bad time to shoot thier collective feet.
There are two parties to blame here.
The politicians and the media.

Hi Nick, did I say earlier last month, that Ming will be booted out before the end of the year?
The next one is slippery Dave. Yes, that's the one Nick, the one that has something of the night about him. That's right, -BLACK WEDNESDAY- Sept. 1992. Good night Nick.

These days interviewers make statements disguised as questions. In my view, it's the press that are trying to run the country by deciding who should stay in office and who should go.

Look at the number of times a politician has been vilified and hounded out of office for some (in most peoples opinion) trivial reasons.

It's all totally wrong and in my view SOME censorship of the press would not necessarily be a bad thing!

You have to admire Menzie Campbell,he is a man of integrity and conviction but he was never going to have enough charisma to be an effective leader - you could tell from the early days he lacked that certain something. It must be a relief (despite what he says)to be out of the limelight as he never looked that comfortable there.

Come off it Grandpa Simpson blaming the media wont help you. That you were out of your depth as a party leader - no more no less - is clear. Your arrogance and sense of self-importance is tiresome.

Slightly off topic, Nick, I do have a question.

Like many voters, I really dont know what the LibDems stand for. Could you tell us? Am I right in thinking that they believe (as do the Tories) in economic Liberalism but, (as do Labour) in a strong social policy? If so, doesnt that make them just what the country needs? As the Tories have no social conscience and Labour no natural economic liberalism?

Or do the LibDems stand for something else?

Poor OLD garter-sock-wearing ming. The first thing I said to myself when I heard this delightful news was "about time!" There's no way on this earth Ming would have a chance in an election... whenever Gordon decides to call one!
Gordon's not young, but he's got principles and he'll stick by them, and Cameron... he's young with no principles! As for Ming- he's a Lib. Dem... what do you expect?!!
Of the three of them, I'd back Brown- He's a darn side better than Blair that's for sure!

I am a Tory but I am sad at the maltreatment of an erudite, considerate politician from the old school. One could almost have imagined Sir Ming as a measured Scottish Liberal facing Joseph Chamberlain at the despatch box. Sadly that says a lot about his downfall- in this age, "measured" is an insult.

The Liberal Democrats are now in crisis. Simon Hughes is an appalling prospect and Nick Clegg is like Cameron without the charm.

For the third time this summer/autumn the media have made it their busines to manipulate the news agenda such that major difficulties have been caused to senior figures who have been through the election process and found to be acceptable.

Who elected you lot?

You have become far too high and mighty and need taking down three pegs.

In my lifetime power has migrated from the floor of the House to the TV camera, wherever it is.

It's a far greater shift than has ever been contemplated by Brussells.

And the implications for our fragile democracy are already showing plainly.

This is all part-and-parcel 'Party' politics, which I believe is an unedifying spectacle to most English people.

I hope that one day, enough independent English people will conclude that the days of the Party system should be over and that they will reluctantly put themselves forward for election.

If sufficient independents were voted in, then there would {initially} be chaos, in conventional political terms, which would be wonderful.

Then, out of the political mire would come the ideas and we could then make some progress.

Danny Finklestein discussed this recently in The Times, when he posited the notion that better collective outcomes are produced by having lots of independent input points of view.

In effect, he was attacking the 'Party' system for producing inordinate numbers of 'bad' outcomes, derived from poor policies.

I agree.

Political parties are dying, that is a fact, based upon their ever shrinking membership numbers.

We English just need to find it within us to start again with a new paradigm.

I think it's a real shame Ming Campbell decided to resign. He wasn't the best commons performer or a young man, but he was energetic, direct and honest about the things he believed in - articulating them well to the public. I think he got both a raw deal from the press, and his party.

He is an intelligent thinker, with some actual political convictions and on some of the most important issues we face today he certain represents me (a 27 year-old man living in London). On the most damaging political decision made this generation: Iraq, he was right both before and after the event and held the government to account as best he could with the number of MPs he had. I certainly started voting for the Liberal Democrats after Iraq. He is also right about civil liberties, taxation and human rights in an environment that is growing increasingly authoritarian.

So the press has pressured a thoughful, principled public servant out of office because he was "too old" (for who?) and may or may not wear different kinds of socks from the norm. People get the government they deserve.

I see the 91Èȱ¬ has suggested that Ming could be the new Speaker. That to me is an excellent idea, and would return some respect that the current incumbent has destroyed.

I live here in America and I found it just really amazing when Sir Menzies was elected leader, then he looked like a doddering old codger in Parliament question time. Lets face it, no personal offense against him, but HE DOES LOOK 80 YEARS OLD. You can inspire confidence in younger people when you look that way and sound that way. Once you lose the confidence of the majority of younger voters, I mean 60 and under there isn't any point going on. The media plays their part, the old saying goes, "If you can't handle the heat, step out of the kitchen". He obviously wasn't willing to sweat it out. Maybe they could get Paddy to come back?

Ming Campbell is an ex-LibDem leader, and I am now an ex-LibDem voter.

Whoever the leader may be now is irrelevant in my opinion. There's too much going on behind the scenes for me to place my trust in them.

As an ex-New Labour voter and a never-in-a-million-years Tory voter, there's just one question: who the hell do I vote for now?

This episode shows how low politicians can stoop to. One one hand preaching about equality diversity and how age is no longer an issue BUT not in our back yard.

"Although he sticks to the party line that it was his decision - and his alone - to go, his face (and occasionally, verbal hints) tell a different story."

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Why do you even bother interviewing him if you can just draw your conclusions from just looking at his face?

The British media are really stomach churning. First you keep bringing up Campbell's age and make references to his 'energy' at every occasion, well knowing that will dent his armor and eventually you'll get your story. Then when he finally falls, you blame it on his party, just to add a bit of intrigue and have another story. Never mind he insists it was the media who made him quit - his face, of course, tells another story.

I think it's a shame he's been forced out - whether you blame the media or the party.

For me he always seemed to have strong, well articulated views, balanced opinions, and didn't switch his beliefs and policies purely to get ahead.

A man with true integrity. So unlike the majority of politicians we have, who change with the wind, and who will say anything that will get them a good press, and rarely actually believe in what they're saying.

No wonder most people can't be bothered to vote anymore. To be honest I don't think I will bother next time around.

I am sad to see Ming decide to stand aside, however poll after poll indicates he was not getting his message across. To blame the media entirely is not fair as Ming has always had a good barracking from MPs during PMQs. So much so that he has looked week from the first time he stood up as leader. Couple this with his obvious senior years, it does not look good.
By blaming the media, this will whittle away at the reporting we are able to receive as we have seen over the years and the manner in which the Beeb is now too scared to take the government on on certain issues after Hutton. Even more so now that there are going to be large cuts across the services!

It's such a depressing element of politics today that the party leaders seem incapable of telling the electorate the truth: Ming rattled on about carrying on until the next election while all the time he was considering resigning, Brown denied he wanted to call an election, Cameron simply says anything he thinks will make him popular with as much conviction as he can fake - and don't even get me started on Iraq.
Surely it would resurrect the public's interest in politics if they felt that their elected leaders actually respected them enough to tell them the truth about any situation, rather than try and spin it to their own ends. The public can see through this, just look at their perceptions of Cable and Hughes, and all it does is further devalue politicans in their eyes.
Presently however, we seemed doomed to exist in a political world which is little more than a bad pastiche of that old Punt and Dennis sketch "I shall definately not be resigning......I resign."
Perhaps twas ever thus, but for the benefit of politics and the world in the next century and beyond, it shouldn't be.

Another example of your work that seems to concentrate on what you think, rather than what the politician is saying.

The news seems to be turning into the "What Nick thinks show".

"Today Ming wore blue socks, indicating that he is upset with how his peers are treating him. The mood in Westminster is electric with whispering in the corridors about a new leader" pllllleeeeeeeeassssseeee..... yawn

Its not just you Nick, It's public demand for gossip and the need to fill vast amounts of space on amateurish 24 hour news channels.

I've watched Nick's piece three times and still don't see any of the verbal hints or facial expressions that Nick claims 'tell a different story'.

What I do see is a man who is immensely frustrated with a lazy, superficial, and ageist media.

If you don't believe that charge just look at the first story that 91Èȱ¬ correspondent Nick Assinder wrote on Ming becoming leader (https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4766632.stm). Nick mentions his age almost straight away.

If Nick Robinson were less full of himself he'd acknowledge that what Ming actually said was TRUE.

Ming has made the smart choice given the changed situation and now deserves a bit of personal space and respect.

It looks like its travesty-time again and the hacks are out with their elusive sniping gear. Don't let the facts get in the way of erudite political reporting, Nick!

That Limp Opec chappy ... he should be leader of the Lib Dems in my opinion. Anyone who gets off with a 'Cheeky Girl' gets my vote!!!

I think Ming was stabbed in the back by people who want just another glib
'young showman' without any real concern for our country and simply powered by his/her own ambition to have power for the sake of power. No I didn't vote Liberal - and now I never will.