Sad for Ming, sad for the Lib Dems and sad for politics

I had intended to give up my blog, having taken up a new job that requires a degree of political impartiality, however yesterday's events are just too much for me to allow to pass without comment...

Ming has always been a real liberal, a decent man of integrity, everything he has said and done as Leader has shown that.

He was in many ways the right man at the wrong time. I was one of a number of people who repeatedly tried to convince Ming to stand in 1999 when Paddy resigned. He wavered and in the end decided to sit pout that contest, sometghing which he clearly regretted very much. When the chance for him to run again come along last year he finally went for it, however I didn’t vote for him. Not because my view of his abilities had changed but because the times had changed around him.

It’s a sad fact that British politics has been reduced to little more than stardust and sound bites but that doesn’t make it less true. The modern party political leader needs to be fit not just for the media age but the internet age, and sadly Ming just didn’t have the right image for the iPod generation. It wasn't just a question of age but of style, fluency and approach. All his undoubted ability just weren't enough to get the message across to the electorate.

Today is a sad day, sad for Ming, sad for the party and sad for politics. It’s time to pay tribute to a great liberal and good man and move on.

We can't afford pointless recriminations about whose fault it was, personally I think the genuine shock etched on the faces of the Parliamentary Party show that that this really was Ming's personal decision. That is very much to his credit, he has braved personal humiliation to put his party first. In the words of the old cliche says ‘nothing so became him as the manner of his parting…’