UK: Sir Menzies (Campbell) wins Lib Dem contest

[muriel_volestrangler]

Sir Menzies Campbell has been elected leader of the Liberal Democrat Party.

Sir Menzies, who was Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesman and acting leader, came out on top in a ballot of party members after a five week campaign.

He beat party president Simon Hughes and economic affairs spokesman Chris Huhne.

The 64-year-old Sir Menzies got 29,697 votes and Chris Huhne got 21,628 in the final round of voting. Mr Hughes was eliminated after finishing third.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4763646.stm

Hughes wasn't too embarrassed in the first round - he got roughly 12,000 votes to Huhne's 16,000 and Campbell's 23,000.

[Greeby]

1. Worth a chuckle to bring up the Private Eye cover from two weeks ago

:evilgrin:

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Ah, but did you see the next issue?

One of their classic "apologies", this time on their own behalf rather than the usual papers:

The Liberal Democrat Party

Another Apology

IN COMMON with all other magazines, Private Eye may have given the impression that the Liberal Democrats were a spent force in British politics, as a result of a number of high-profile scandals involving alcoholism, rent boys and bisexuality. Covers such as "We're all buggered" may have conveyed the message that Private Eye in some way considered the future of the Liberal Democrat Party was in doubt.

We now realise that nothing could be further from the truth and their triumph in the Dunfermline by-election was totally predictable and that the electorate was entirely unconcerned by metropolitan gossip and personality-obsessed tittle-tattle.

We would like to apologise to Sir Ming Vase, the Chinese-born acting leader of the Liberal Democrat party for any suggestion that he was old, cracked or broken.

[Greeby]

3. Sir Ming Vase?

:spray:

[ikri]

4. Seems like a good time to post this

(Originally posted by Greeby on the UK forum)

[savemefromdumbya]

5. oh well

It won't make any difference