Lib Dems claim 'overwhelming' support for coalition

The coalition deal which gave Liberal Democrats a share of power at Westminster for the first time in the party's history won the "overwhelming" approval of activists at a special conference.
By The Newsroom
Published 17th May 2010, 11:12 BST
Updated 17th May 2010, 11:46 BST

Party sources said that no more than a dozen of the 2,000 delegates opposed the deal in a show of hands at the gathering in Birmingham.

It followed criticism of the deal from former party leader Charles Kennedy, who revealed at the weekend that he abstained in last week's vote on the coalition partnership, claiming it had driven a "coach and horses" through long-cherished hopes for realignment of the centre-left and warned of the danger of assimilation by the Liberal Democrats' bigger partners.

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Reservations were also voiced last Tuesday by party grandees Lord Ashdown and Lord Steel, leader of the Liberal Party from 1976 to 1988. Both said yesterday, however, they felt Nick Clegg had little choice and it was now vital to make the coalition work.

Polls suggested that Lib Dems had dropped three points to 21 per cent since the election, with Labour the main beneficiaries. One survey found that around one-third of people who backed Liberal Democrats thought the party had sold out its principles and should have forged a pact with Labour instead.

Related topics:Lib DemsBirmingham