Reports where that the local Tory party dictated much of their campaign, I cant help but think that if somone other than Neill (who seems a decent sort of chap) had been selected and the campaign tightly directed things would not be so dicey right now.
Well we shall never know, for all we know a parachuted A-Lister may have lost the seat completely!
Quite frankly though I am appalled by the result. It would seem yet again that inept by-election campaigning has been the hall-mark of this election. Cheadle, Moray, Bromley - the list could go on and on. CCHQ needs to get a grip and sort something out soon before Bromley Mk. II happens. As the Agent of my local association said to me this morning: "thank god for Ming Campbell." Any other leader of the Lib Dems - Nick Clegg, David Laws, maybe even Charlie Kennedy himself - and we
probably would have lost.
