Lib Dems in meltdown says Danczuk

Labour Parliamentary Candidate Simon Danczuk

Rochdale’s Labour Parliamentary Candidate Simon Danczuk has accused local Lib Dems of being totally out of step with the rest of their party following the resignation of their leader, Sir Ming Campbell.

Mr Danczuk said he was surprised that Paul Rowen chose to invite the beleaguered Lib Dem leader to visit Rochdale only last Friday at a time when Mr Campbell’s stock was at an all time low.

He said: “For Paul Rowen to invite a man that had next to no support in his party, and was seeing his party’s poll ratings plummet by the week, was not a good judgement call in my opinion.

“The Lib Dems in Rochdale seem to be in utter denial about just how far their Party has fallen since the last General Election. They’ve lost nearly 50 per cent of their support and their credibility among the electorate is in tatters. The blame for this must fall squarely at the feet of Sir Ming Campbell. So for Paul Rowen to invite Campbell to come to Rochdale as a guest of honour and then for Sir Cyril Smith to praise him publicly as a great leader just shows how utterly out of step they are from the British public and even their own party.”

Mr Danczuk added that questions must also be asked about the nature of Sir Ming’s exit.

He said: “It was only 18-months ago when Charles Kennedy resigned as leader after he was pushed out by his own party. Did the same happen to Sir Ming I wonder? Compare this to the Labour party where Tony Blair left to a standing ovation in the House of Commons. The party then ensured there was a smooth and orderly transition to Gordon Brown taking over as leader. That is clear evidence of a party united by togetherness and a common purpose. In contrast, the circumstances leading to Sir Ming’s departure show a party full of divisions and lacking any sort of direction. This is a party in meltdown.”