Are Lib Dem MPs Up For The Fight?

I can't pretend that I bother listening that closely to what Lib Dem politicians trot out during their party conferences, but I am rather surprised by how poor the performances have been in the hall so far.

Following yesterday's catelogue of shame, I didn't think it could get much worse. And that is without any reference to Norman Lamb's contribution yesterday.

During the health debate Lamb could see no contradiction in arguing for "more local decision making" to ensure there is "no postcode lottery".

Surely the devolution of power, and the roll out of local decision making, means more chance that there will be a postcode lottery rather than less?

Clearly not in Lib Dem world where there are no national policies...unless it's an opportunist tax cut.

And Lamb also argued that we should have no national medical database, as the potential for government mismanagement of our personal details was too high. Although, speaking as someone whose partner has allergies to medicines that are used fairly routinely by doctors and local hospitals, some of us are actually grateful that doctors can look up our medical records before prescribing any medical treatment that might be harmful/fatal.

But then I probably value my health more than my civil liberties, silly me really. In Wolfy Smith's, sorry, Lamb's "people's NHS" we will die proud in the knowledge that our civil liberties have at least remained intact.

And that was one of the better orators we have had. Vince Cable stumbled and mumbled his way through a bizarre series of attacks that seemed to me to meander down a route of comparing Cameron's Conservatives with an evangelical church for about 15 minutes too long. Simon Hughes today admitted that his time as President of the Lib Dems has been a total failure - not least because he has picked up Lembit Opik's awful sense of humour (i.e. total lack of humour) and belief that he is in fact the funniest man on the planet. When he is in fact not even the funniest person on the stage.

Chris Huhne, not so much looking like an owl, now looking like Mr Majeika but without the performing hair. A retired open university lecturer still confused at how he lost to Nick Clegg in that leadership election.

In fact the only real class act at Lib Dem conference, for all his many flaws, is Charlie Kennedy. It's a sad fact that the Lib Dems would have been in a much stronger position had they not characteristically knifed him in the back in the first place.

But don't let it be said that Lib Dems at conference are not up for a fight...it's just usually amongst themselves. When push comes to shove, they are a bad joke.

I wonder what the people of Westphalia-On-Sea will make of that news?
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(Photo Source: Keith Edkins, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Norman_Lamb_MP_Liverpool.jpg)