Paul Johnston

Nick Clegg has been elected leader of the Lib Dems.........sort of! A majority of 511 is scarcely a ringing endorsement even from the party's own activists. And the turnout was low too. The Lib Dems reckon to have 70-75,000 members. The vote this time after weeks of campaigning, was a derisory 41,000 of those - an abstention rate of about 43%. So Clegg has the support of about 28.5% of the activists; almost exactly the same proportion as those who seem to have thought him a 'calamity' a few weeks ago and, more significantly, 15% fewer than those who voted with their feet for 'neither of the above'.

No wonder Vince Cable came out to announce the result with the face of someone announcing a tragedy rather than a triumph. And no wonder he found it necessary to waffle on at length about anything else under the sun before summoning the courage to actually announce the result.