The Lib Dems are experiencing a similar realisation to the Tories’ 2017 campaign; they launched a presidential-style campaign centred around a figure who, the more voters saw her, the less they like her.

In initial literature from the Lib Dems, the party was branded as “Jo Swinson’s Liberal Democrats” with almost every leaflet and advert plastered with her face. Now the party isn’t even including her in ‘past vs future’ comparisons, instead opting for the Lib Dem logo rather than a picture of their leader.

The party strategy made a radical u-turn from an anti-Labour to anti-Tory focus following last week’s YouGov MRP poll, and now it seems they’ve u-turned again on their presidential strategy. Not good signs from a party that was agitating for this election in the first place…

Advance Together has registered as both a political party and a non-party campaign – a clear abuse of the law. The pro-LibDem pretend political party has bragged about this allowing them to effectively double their national spending limit. It appears that Advance Together have fielded five paper candidates to extend their spending limit in five selected Tory-LibDem marginal constituencies. Regular non-party campaigners are limited to spending just £700 per constituency when campaigning against a specific candidate, by virtue of standing fake candidates, Advance Together has extended its spending limit to £12,000. They’ve even gloated about this…

If only there was a campaign legally allowed to spend £12k against him in his constituency… oh hang on…. https://t.co/qNaqxMzHAE

— advance (@advanceGE2019) December 3, 2019

As Guido has previously reported, their campaign literature in these seats only attacks Conservative candidates – it doesn’t even promote their own candidates. They have also confirmed their candidates aren’t standing to win…

Nope. Our candidates are there to be tactical. Not to win. It’s important.

— advance (@advanceGE2019) November 27, 2019

Every single one of their 600 microtargeted adverts on Facebook is an anti-Tory advert. The Advance Together team is suspiciously made up of ‘former’ LibDem activists…

Guido will miss Heidi Allen as she stands down at the forthcoming election. The soon-to-be-former MP has had an interesting four years in Parliament, hopping ship from the Tories to lead the Tiggers, then to be an independent, and then to be a representative for the short-lived ‘The Independents’ and finally becoming a Lib Dem this month. During her time as an MP she attempted to become Mayor of Cambridgeshire, alas she was rejected by party members at the first hurdle. She didn’t even make the final round…

Heidi will be best remembered for telling her voters one thing and then doing precisely the opposite. By scarpering off now, pro-second referendum Heidi will never have to subject her real views to electoral scrutiny. A masterclass in avoiding any kind of accountability at all…

Of course she doesn’t deserve threats and abuse on social media, however when she says she is quitting because of “the toll on her privacy” did she really mean the scrutiny her hypocrisy and flip-flopping since the referendum has brought her? We wish her well…

UPDATE: TV Producers are passing on notes to not request interviews from Heidi as “she’d get too upset” in them.

The chair of the Liberal Democrat LGBT wing has resigned from the party following Phillip Lee’s defection to them. “I thought we had a soul and principles.”

Read her full statement here:

“I’m feeling devastated.

The powers that be have let Philip Lee in.

A homophobe, a xenophobe, and someone who thinks people should be barred from the country if they are ill.

F*ck this.
F*ck this so hard.

I thought the Lib Dems were not a single issue party.
I thought we had a soul and principles.
But apparently as long as you are on the right side on Brexit we’ll take you.

Well, I’m sorry, but no.

It doesn’t matter if we already have others as bad. You don’t make bad things better by adding more bad things. It doesn’t matter that he will increase our numbers in parliament by ONE. He thinks me and people like me are a lower class of human. I will not share a party with him.

I know you only get to do this once. I know I am ripping up almost my entire social life here. I know I am causing a lot of people a lot of organisational difficulties. And I’m sorry for all that. But there are some principles I will not compromise.

Sorry.”

The former Liberal Democrat candidate who asked his Twitter followers if “as a patriot” they would “squeeze the trigger” on Nigel Farage. After days, Twitter has finally banned his account. Looks like ‘@RichardNoBrexit‘ has become Richard No Twitter…

The ‘FBPE’ Twitter account behind a Tweet that went viral today asking people if “as a patriot” they would “squeeze the trigger” on Nigel Farage was a Lib Dem activist and council candidate, Guido can reveal. His post was liked widely by Remainers on Twitter…

Before joining the Lib Dems, Hall stood as a Labour Party Parliamentary candidate in 1992, but left the party because of Tony Blair. His blog also writes about “the tragedy of zionism”. Maybe he would feel more at home in Corbyn’s Labour…

Nigel Farage told Guido “Imagine the outcry if a Brexit party candidate posted a picture like this of Jo Swinson. Double standards?” Quite…