Is it all over for Ming?

Well, if this story is anything to go by, yes. But what a truly witless bunch of people the Lib Dem parliamentary party is.

In January 2006, they got rid of Charles Kennedy knowing that his successor would almost certainly be Ming Campbell. Indeed some of those who signed the no confidence letter that brought Kennedy down were already pledged to support Ming in the ensuing contest.

Now, less than two years on, they apparently want to get rid of Ming as well, on the grounds that he will probably be 68 by the time of the next election. But shouldn't they have thought of that when they elected him?

Before all this Gordon Brown snap election nonsense was even a twinkle in Dougie Alexander's eye, it was overwhelmingly likely that the next election would be in 2009 and that Ming would therefore be, er, 68 at the time of it. Whatever it is the Lib Dems now stand for, it's certainly not loyalty.

The sincerest form of flattery

"To my mind, Sir Menzies Campbell delivered the most coherently argued speech of the conference season. He also had the wittiest line with his joke about Dave wanting to be Tony but not Maggie, Gordon wanting to be Maggie but not Tony and Menzies being happy being Menzies."

- Andrew Rawnsley, in The Observer, Sunday 14 October.

"His conference speech in Brighton was easily the best of the season, and even contained the best joke - the line about Dave wanting to be Tony but not Maggie, and Gordon wanting to be Maggie but not Tony, and Ming not wanting to be any of them."

- Yours truly, on This Blog, Tuesday 9 October.

Pleased to be of service, Andrew - as ever.

We're in the final now, you know

Well played the lads. And apologies from all those who doubted you.