The Liberal Democrats appear to be going through a political assassination whose bungling incompetence makes the murder of Rasputin look well executed. There really is no point in them trying to get rid of Nick Clegg now. The process would be bloody, and any successor would not have time to establish themselves before the General Election. I am sure that Nick Clegg is now in a position of sufficient strength to sack Vince Cable if he wants to, but I suspect he will prefer to keep him in post; like Lambert Simnel turning a spit in Henry VII's kitchen.
Perhaps Mr Clegg may even get some satisfaction from humiliating Vince Cable in the same way that David Cameron has been humiliating him since 2010.
However, the whole mess could have an implication for Brent. By now, surely every Liberal Democrat will realise that the next election will be about damage limitation for them. They need to concentrate their resources on the seats they can retain, and it is hard to see how that could include Brent Central. The incumbent MP cannot not be expected to commit much effort to a campaign where she is standing down for a party she finds "catastrophically depressing". The membership in the constituency is reported to have collapsed. The loss of their MEPs will leave them with less campaigning resources, and the defeat of all but one of their councillors deprives them of foot soldiers. There surely must be better bets for them.
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