Taking out Lib Dem MPs and councillors, their families, and people directly employed by the Lib Dem machine, a poll rating of seven per cent doesn’t leave many actual voters still backing Clegg’s party. Their catastrophic collapse in the public esteem is a dominant theme of contemporary politics. A strange death, indeed. Partly it is because of the non-tribal nature of the Lib Dem vote: aside from some areas with residual ‘Liberal’ support, the Lib Dems are the classic dustbin for protest votes. Their support can melt away like snow in the sun. Partly, it is because of the historic betrayal which Clegg undertook in propping up a Conservative government. It is now well understood that Cameron is using the Lib Dem ministers in his government to keep his own swivel-eyed rightwingers in check, and most obviously as human shields for the cuts programme. In return, Cameron is playing fast and loose with national security to give the Lib Dems a symbolic benefit of coalition to crow about at their party conference.

This leaves Lib Dem supporters in a terrible quandary. They can back their leader, and support the government; or they can back their own instincts, principles, traditions, and communities, and distance themselves from their own ministers. Most will do the latter, like those Lib Dem MPs who voted against tuition fee increases and cuts to higher education. My local MP is one you’ve probably never heard of. He’s Stephen Lloyd, a decent hard working Lib Dem MP who cares about our town (and no, you can’t use that on your leaflets). What he’s doing in cahoots with the Tories defies explanation. Those Liberal Democrats with some politics (and not all of them do) tend towards the social democratic end of the spectrum. They belong to Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth, are active as hospital volunteers and school governors, and support fashionable leftwing causes. They don’t want their party to be in government, and they can’t stand what the Conservative-led government is doing to public services. Many have switched to the Labour party, and as the cuts bite, many more will make the same journey.

Clegg is not stupid. He can see that he is destroying the credibility of his party for a generation. He understands that his actions will cost thousands of his colleagues their council or parliamentary seats. So why does he do it? An easy explanation is that is wants to be deputy prime minister. Politicians are motivated by personal gain, titles and baubles. For the Lib Dems, the offer to serve as ministers was too good to miss. Clegg likes being taken seriously, after years of the chamber emptying as he rose to speak. But there’s a deeper reason. Say it softly, but he’s not really a Lib Dem. If you read the Orange Book, or review Clegg’s career, it’s obvious the Lib Dem party was the vehicle for his own advancement. It has no more emotional attachment for Clegg than a suit or a laptop. Once it’s served its purpose, it can be discarded. If the Tories win the next election off the back of a tax giveaway, I’ll bet that Clegg will serve in a Conservative government (from the Lords if he loses his seat). Parasites live off their hosts, but have an interest in keeping them alive. Clegg’s relationship with the Lib Dem party is not even symbiotic; it is vampiric. He is sucking the Lib Dems dry to sustain himself, and will discard their shrivelled corpse when he’s finished. Seven per cent? In a few months, Lib Dems will look back longingly at such a solid base of support.

Photo: Liberal Democrats