Oh dear

[BobG]

Glyn: this is all speculative and, of course, pretty much anything could happen come the day. My take, for what it's worth, is that people are increasingly fed up with politicians generally. A fair wedge of the BREXIT vote can be seen as a protest 'against', rather than a vote 'for'. There is a mood of disenchantment, of desire for change, in the air. Cameron missed it - and paid the price. The Labour Party grandees who nominated Corbyn missed it too. That has split the Labour vote; has made the party unelectable and has put in stark focus the choices that people in the north will make at the next General Election. Some will vote Labour.  But if UKIP find a competant leader and position themselves as a party with a vision and a future, there is a chance they could end up as HMG's Official Opposition. If they position themselves as centre/centre right they could smash the status quo. They could, of course, also sink without trace - but it's not a foregone conclusion.

If Labour could show even passably acceptable competance, land a few blows on a goverment that's been unbelievably incompetant for the past 2 years then maybe Labour could start to fight back. But as it is, why would any rational and sensible being ever vote Labour again? If the LibDems could produce a decent and charismatic leader with a profile, even they could have a chance of a come back at the expense of the Labour Party. Where else are centre left types going to go? If there is no centre left party to vote for, then a slightly rightward leaning UKIP could sweep the board as the best of a bad lot.

Bob

[Mike_F]

If the LibDems could produce a decent and charismatic leader with a profile, even they could have a chance of a come back at the expense of the Labour Party.

"even they could have a chance of a come back"

Given the fact that LD membership is higher than it's been for the last 17 years, I'd say they're quietly going about making that comeback from the grass roots up. A Liberal Britain is THE alternative politics for me. I'm not a big fan of Tim Farron as his religious zealotry nags at my conscience but he's certainly not shown himself to be duplicitous which can't be said for any other party leader.

[wilts rover]

The Lib-Dems have gone from 4th place in May to win a local council by-election in Mosborough. A result they are putting down to the elcorates disenchantment with the Labour Party as a whole, rather than Corbyn who is personally popular.

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/labour-s-shock-sheffield-by-election-defeat-not-about-jeremy-corbyn-says-lib-dem-winner-1-8118668

[BillyStubbsTears]

Wilts
Of course, there's not the slightest possibility that the LDs might be delighted at the thought of  Corbyn remaining leader and Labour opening up a space for them on the centre-left?

[wilts rover]

Whilst members of the Labour Party continue to conive, scheme and run down their leader at any and every given opportunity, and then say it's his fault the country/Sheffield doesn't trust them rather than their own, of course there isn't...

[BillyStubbsTears]

Not really addressing the point I raised Wilts but there you go. It's nice to know that someone who was complicit in getting the Tories into power over the past couple of elections feels so strongly about the Labour Party.