For Hughes and Huhne and Hemming.
This is the only day of the week containing an H so what better day for the other two H's to break out. John Hemming has been blogging all week about his intentions to seek the relavant nominations.
Simon Hughes is the second open secret of the week. He has taken every step to not decalre his candidacy while taking every step to ease his announcement, expect a press conference later today.
Chris Huhne may only be a first term MP, however like Nick Clegg, who has declared that he will not stand, he is a former MEP. As Lynne Featherstone writes he is very experienced in finacial matters, which will be a boon against Gordon Brown, and is also very strong on environmental issues. He is an interesting wild card in the mix if he can gather the support and is liable to take some votes off Sir Menzies camp according to The Times.
Were you ever a dj, Stephen?
ReplyDeleteNo Jim didn't fix it for me :-(
ReplyDeleteIf politics is a greasy pole, as Charles Kennedy has sadly discovered, then his obvious successor, Simon Hughes, now needs to seize that pole with a very firm grip.
ReplyDeleteHughes is respected in all quarters as decent, compassionate, urbane, witty, intelligent, principled and also vastly experienced.
More to the point, for the future of the Lib Dems, he is hugely popular with the public.
For all his personal qualities, that easy affection which people from all walks of life offer him is the most significant reason why he is the right man to lead them into a share of Government later this year.
After half a generation of a "New Labour" experiment that has ended up looking as clueless and lacklustre as the dying and dreary Conservative administration it replaced, Britain is long overdue the freshness and vitality that has always characterised the bulk of the Liberal Democrat policy canon.
That's why the Lib Dem membership owe it to the country to choose the man whose electability offers them the best chance of a serious role in Government that has beckoned many times but hitherto remained tantalisingly just out of reach.
In short: cometh the hour, cometh Mr Hughes.