Liberal Democrat defectors

The Liberal Democrats have endured a spate of speculation over MPs on the left of the party defecting to Labour.

Former leader of the party Charles Kennedy was said to be considering such a move over the weekend. The story was initially confirmed by Labour sources before being squashed by Kennedy himself on Sunday.

Labour appears to be targeting left-wing Lib Dems in order to coax them out of the coalition. Ed Miliband has specifically mentioned Kennedy, Ming Campbell and Simon Hughes in this regard, claiming that many Liberal Democrats are considering defection.

Many Liberal Democrat MPs are said to be deeply unhappy with the coalition’s economic policy, but rumours of such dissatisfaction have yet to turn into full-blown splits, despite intense media speculation in the political dead season of August and deflated Lib Dem poll ratings since the coalition came to power.