The campaign that changed everything and still did not matter? the liberal democrat campaign and performance: The Liberal Democrat Campaign and Performance

This contribution examines the Liberal Democrat campaign and their subsequent performance in the 2010 General Election. Despite what appeared to be a ground-breaking campaign, the Liberal Democrat performance in the 2010 election was - as Clegg acknowledged - disappointing for the party. Here we argue that the story of the 2010 Liberal Democrat election was the remarkable similarity with 2005, with even the geographical variations in support part of a long tradition of local upsets reflecting local issues, campaigns and personalities. Moreover, we suggest that the Liberal Democrats failure to break the mould of British politics reflected the age-old problem of electoral credibility. Put simply, despite the cataclysmic events of the election campaign, the surge subsided because too many people either did not want a Liberal Democrat government or did not believe a Liberal Democrat could win the national or local constituency contest. © The Author 2010.