The LibDems were making headlines this morning over allegations Jo Swinson killed a squirrel. Guido decided to compile a helpful list of prominent examples of accusations* of animal slaughter by political figures… 

Lib Dems

• Jo Swinson: Killed a squirrel.
• Jeremy Thorpe: Had a dog shot.
• Michael Heseltine: Killed a dog.
• Michael Dixon: Jailed for killing a cat.

Labour

• Ed Milliband’s Dad: Killed a cat.
• Roy Hattersley’s dog Buster: Killed a royal goose.

Tories

• David Cameron: Shot a stag called Boris.

This is the only poll Guido can see the Lib Dems doing well in this election…

*LibDem leaflet style disclaimer.

In scenes that can only remind you of May’s 2017 campaign, the Lib Dems’ campaign designed entirely around Jo Swinson is sinking like the titanic as voters slowly realise they don’t actually like her.

It took a while for the public (and Guido) to notice the Lib Dem leader, but as the campaign has rolled on a majority of voters now do have an opinion on her – an unfavourable one. This may also help explain the Lib Dem’s polling fall from 18% at the start of the campaign to 15% today.

For comparison, the most recent trackers see Boris on +2%, Corbyn on -43%, Swinson on -23% and Farage on -18%. So don’t be sad Jo, things could always get worse…

Today’s Lib Dem leaflet lie comes from Jo Swinson herself, who has put out a generic leaflet across parts of the country that includes two quotes from the media:

“The Lib Dem fightback is real – and it’s changing everything” – Sky News, August 2019

“Lib Dems winning and on the up after by-election victory” – The Guardian, August 2019

It didn’t take long for people to check these quotes out and notice the Guardian quote was, in fact, a quote from Jo Swinson herself, which the Guardian had reported.

The political equivalent of money laundering…

Numerous sources are confirming to Guido that the police shutdown of Portcullis House’s 3rd floor was due to a suspicious package of white powder being delivered to the Lib Dem leader’s parliamentary office. Not the Monday morning any office worker would hope for…

According to one eye witness, five members of the Met were stopping staffers accessing the floor. Sounds like the incident has now been resolved…

UPDATE: A statement has been released by Swinson’s office:

“Staff immediately notified police who attended and have now assessed package as non-suspicious. We would like to thank parliamentary authorities & police for swift response.”

As Guido reported yesterday, Corbyn has a new Chief of Staff following the unceremonious removal of Karie Murphy two days ago. Whilst we know the new appointment, Helene Reardon Bond, is a married woman (purely on the basis her husband also works for Corbyn as his chauffeur), it looks like Bond has been flirting with someone else: Jo Swinson.

A quick scroll through Helene’s twitter shows a long history of overtly friendly messages with the Lib Dem leader, including “that’s the @joswinson I know!” and buying a signed copy of her book (apparently she has written one…)

Helene’s flirting with the Lib Dems shouldn’t come as a surprise though. Half of Labour’s voters are also doing it…