Lib Dem leader defends position
Sir Menzies Campbell has defended his position as leader of the Liberal Democrats as criticism grows over his performance.
He insisted that he was “perfectly confident” of his abilities as leader and warned against setting a deadline to assess his progress.
His comments came after party president Simon Hughes suggested that he needed more time to prove himself.
Sir Menzies told BBC One’s Politics Show that he could meet all the challenges of leadership.
“If you’ll forgive my immodesty I didn’t become an Olympic athlete or a practising QC or win a seat from fourth place that hadn’t been Liberal for 50 years without being able to meet challenges,” he said.
The leader’s recent performance at prime minister’s question time has reportedly come under fire from Liberal Democrat MPs.
The party press office said it was looking at ways to improve Sir Menzies’ performance. He has been advised by his chief of staff Norman Lamb to “relax and be himself” in the “bear pit” of the Commons.
But senior MP Ed Davey said it was a “traumatic time” for the Liberal Democrats, and that the party’s problems date back to when Charles Kennedy stepped down after admitting he was an alcoholic.
“You have got to remember where we were three or four months ago. We have had a pretty traumatic time in the party,” he told the BBC.
“For some of us it actually went back quite a few years. The party hadn’t been managed as well as it should be.”
