Liberal Democrat response to David Cameron's election

4.16.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 6th Dec 2005

The Liberal Democrats congratulate David Cameron on his election as the new Tory leader, but there are a whole string of reasons to believe he will not bring electoral success to the Conservative Party.

1. FOUR LEADERS IN FOUR YEARS - BUT THE PROBLEM IS THE PRODUCT

David Cameron is the 4th leader of the Conservatives in four years. They keep changing their leader. But the problem is their product. There was a similar media furore when Michael Howard was elected leader. Precious little good it did them. The Tories gained less than 1% of the national vote on May 5th. To win the next election, the Conservatives would need to secure a phenomenal swing. There is no evidence of that happening .

2. WE DO NOT KNOW MUCH OF WHAT DAVID CAMERON STANDS FOR

He has spent most of the leadership campaign trying to avoid committing himself to anything. It is hard to imagine that this blank canvass approach will do anything to encourage a Tory resurgence. Is it possible that the Tories have elected their own version of Tony Blair at the moment when Blairism becomes unpopular?

3. WHAT WE DO KNOW INSPIRES NO CONFIDENCE

David Cameron was the principal author of the Conservatives' election manifesto earlier this year. So we certainly know what he stood for in May. Since then he has underlined his anti-European credentials by advocating the withdrawal of Tory MEPs from the moderate EPP group. He has also emphasised his support for student tuition fees. There is every reason to believe he will support the government in moving to a greater use of nuclear power.

4. THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS ARE A STRONGER FORCE THAN EVER

The Tories have simply ceased to exist in large parts of the country. In many areas, particularly in urban municipal centres, the Liberal Democrats are the main opposition to Labour. The Conservatives only have one city seat outside of London (Sutton Coldfield). In stark contrast, on May 5th, the Liberal Democrats picked up seats in Cardiff, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Birmingham and Cardiff. The Liberal Democrats also secured very substantial swings (in excess of 10%) in Bradford, Glasgow, Derby, Newcastle and Durham. Michael Howard correctly identified the need for the Tories to re-establish themselves in the cities - but they have completely failed to do so.