The danger, when heavily defeated political parties ask themselves why they collapsed and how they will recover, is that the interrogation is too superficial, the questioning too narrow.

For the Liberal Democrats, who in the past five years have lost 49 of their 57 MPs, 10 of their 11 MEPs, 11 of their 16 MSPs, more than half their 4,000 councillors and two thirds of their 6.8 million voters, that danger is clear and present.

The current mood at party headquarters is one of defiance as a post-poll membership bounce is held up in an endless stream of tweets as proof of a #libdemfightback. But the party’s most experienced heads realise the journey back from the political wilderness could take a generation to complete, and won’t be completed at all if, in the coming weeks and months, a plausible destination and a viable route are not identified and agreed. There is no point rushing off if you don’t know where you are heading.

The conversation that is now needed should begin with the most fundamental question of all: if the Liberal Democrats did not exist, why would it be necessary to invent them?





Nick Clegg resigned as leader of the Liberal Democrats after a disastrous night in the polls (Lindsey Parnaby)

We live in an age of plural politics. Not so long ago, there were only two other parties for the Liberal Democrats to worry about. Today there are six, all of whom are more clearly defined than the Lib Dems.

The Conservatives are the party of wealth creation; Labour of social justice; Ukip of EU exit and immigration control; the Greens of left-wing environmentalism; the SNP and Plaid Cymru of Scottish and Welsh independence.

In a crowded marketplace, definition matters. The ability to describe who you are in a single word or sentence is an increasingly precious commodity. It is one the Lib Dems do not currently possess.

The proximate cause of the Liberal Democrats’ identity crisis was the decision to fight the election as centrists rather than liberals – a decision that the party leadership knew, deep down, risked leaving them with a functional and lifeless message, devoid of the sense of moral purpose and historic mission that made Clegg’s resignation speech his best of the campaign.





The party’s most experienced heads realise the journey back from the political wilderness could take a generation to complete (Getty)

But as so often, the “science” of the party’s internal polling won out – in internal discussions, numbers beat opinions. Discovering that many potential Liberal Democrat voters thought the Tories too right wing and Labour too left wing, it was decided that the Lib Dems would present themselves as the “anchor” that would stop either party from drifting too far from the political centre. In so far as this gave the party a reason to exist, it was to moderate the worst excesses of whichever party it might end up working with in government – a dismal offering. Not only did this tell voters nothing about the party’s own vision for the country, it actively undermined its claims to have one. If the Tories want to travel 10 miles to the right, and Labour 10 miles to the left, the logic of the Lib Dem position was that they were prepared to travel in either direction, but only for five miles.

What is more, that message didn’t even serve its intended tactical purpose in the 2015 election. It is a matter of simple human psychology that people who hate or fear the Tories or Labour don’t want a party that will moderate them in government. They want a party that will keep them out of government. The Lib Dems were unable to provide that assurance in either their Conservative-facing, or their Labour-facing, seats.

If the proximate cause of the Lib Dem identity crisis was the triangulation between Labour and the Conservatives that left the party without a positive message of its own, the underlying cause – and the one the party leadership candidates will try hard not to discuss in the coming weeks – is the unresolved battle between the party’s Right-leaning economic liberals and the Left-leaning social liberals about the true meaning of liberalism.

It is an uncomfortable fact, but a fact nonetheless, that liberalism straddles the Left/Right fault line that runs through our politics. When that fault line opens – as it did when the 2010 election produced an inconclusive result – a Liberal has only three options: jump left, jump right, or disappear into the void. Clegg and his colleagues did what they believed the electorate wanted and the national interest demanded, and jumped right. Half his voters jumped left.

The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Show all 16 1 /16 The major political figures who lost out in the General Election The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Ed Balls Ed Balls lost his seat in what was the biggest shock of an extraordinary night of election results. His defeat in compounded Labour's woes in a dismal night, which saw the party lose all but one of its Scottish MPs and will undoubtedly lead to Ed Miliband standing down. The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Nigel Farage OK, so he came close to being upstaged by a professional comedian – Al Murray aka the Pub Landlord, had also lost in South Thanet. But as he lost his fight to become an MP and resigned his Ukip leadership, Nigel Farage did manage to get in a few gags. He began by railing against the editors of the The Sun and the Daily Mail, sarcastically calling them “geniuses”. But perhaps bearing the last election in mind, when he was in intensive care following an air crash, he said after the result that he felt “pretty good”. “Never felt happier,” in fact. A weight lifted off the old shoulders. Quite right too, old boy. More time for the saloon bar and a pint, or five. AFP/Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Vince Cable A huge scalp for the Conservatives, even though he was part of their coalition government. The Liberal Democrat Business Secretary lost his Twickenham seat to Tory candidate Tania Mathias. Cable had held the seat since 1997 and was a strong figure in the Lib Dems, having previously been deputy leader. Christopher Furlong | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Jim Murphy A sign of how dire things are in Scotland now for the Labour party. The leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Jim Murphy, lost his Renfrewshire East to the SNP, having held the seat since 2005. He held a number of cabinet positions under the administrations of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Danny Alexander The Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Nick Clegg's right-hand man, Danny Alexander, lost his seat of Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey to the SNP. His aides admitted defeat several hours before the formal decision was due. There were suggestions that the SNP vote could be as high as 50 per cent. BEN STANSALL | AFP | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Esther McVey The Minister of State for Employment and one of the few women in David Cameron’s male-dominate cabinet, Esther McVey had only held Wirral West since 2010. Her 2,436 majority was overturned and Labour's Margaret Greenwood won the seat with a 417 majority. BEN STANSALL | AFP | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election George Galloway The former Labour MP had held the seat of Bradford West since 2012 for the Respect Party. He previously held the constituency of Bethnal Green and Bow for Respect between 2005 and 2010, although he unsuccessfully contested Poplar and Limehouse in 2010. Nigel Roddis | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Charles Kennedy Another huge Lib Dem scalp, with the SNP taking the seat of Ross, Skye and Lochaber from the former leader of the party. Kennedy had led the Lib Dems between 1999 and 2006 and had become something of an elder statesman of the party. He conceded defeat ahead of the official declaration and said he would not give any TV interviews. He had been an MP since 1983. Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Douglas Alexander The shadow Foreign Secretary and Ed Miliband's Chair of General Election Strategy, Danny Alexander had been the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South since 1997. He lost his seat to the SNP, with the party now holding a 9,076 majority. Labour's share of the vote was down by 21.3 per cent. Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Simon Hughes Simon Hughes held a key Liberal Democrat seat in London, Bermondsey and Old Southwark, which he held from 1983. Hughes is a former deputy leader of the Lib Dems and had been minister of state at the Ministry of Justice since 2013. He was previously the President of the party, as well as a two-time leadership candidate, and stood for the party in the 2004 Mayoral election. Rob Stothard | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Mark Reckless An MP for Rochester and Strood since 2010, Reckless switched from the Conservatives to Ukip in September 2014 and winning the seat outright in November. He was the second Ukip MP after Douglas Carswell, and his loss is a huge blow to Nigel Farage’s party. Carl Court | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Margaret Curran Margaret Curran had held Glasgow East since 2010 and was the shadow Secretary of State for Scotland. She had previously been the MSP for Glasgow Baillieston (a seat she might wish she still held, as it is still held by Labour under the title Glasgow Provan). Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election David Laws A Liberal Democrat MP for Yeovil since 2001, he was the minister of state for Schools. He had briefly been Chief Secretary to the Treasury after the 2010 election, only holding the office for 17 days after resigning due to the disclosure of his Parliamentary expenses claims. Laws was a key negotiator for the Lib Dems when the coalition was being formed five years ago. Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Jo Swinson On her election in 2005, she was the youngest member of the House of Commons. Under the Coalition government, the Lib Dem MP was the Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs and for Women and Equalities. She lost her seat of East Dunbartonshire to the SNP's John Nicholson. Matthew Lloyd | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Ed Davey The Liberal Democrat Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey had been the MP for Kingston and Surbiton since 1997. Davey championed the Lib Dems' role in ensuring the Conservative-led Coalition championed the green agenda. However, the well-known Lib Dem MP lost his seat to the Tories, having held the seat in 2010 by 7,560 votes. Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images The major political figures who lost out in the General Election Lynne Featherstone Lynne Featherstone lost her London seat of Hornsey and Wood Green to the Labour party. She was a former junior Home Office minister with responsibility for equality, then becoming junior minister with responsibility for international development. Dan Kitwood | Getty Images

The question that has paralysed the party ever since is whether to remain where they are or to head back to the territory occupied by Paddy Ashdown, Charles Kennedy and Ming Campbell.

To the majority of Lib Dems, this is a “no brainer”. The party grew throughout its 20 years on the centre Left. Since moving to the Right, it has collapsed.

Unfortunately, not only has the anti-austerity Left since become the most crowded part of the political landscape, but the bridge that leads back there may well be broken. A party that has spent five years attacking the deficit with the Conservatives cannot credibly spend the next five denouncing “Tory cuts”.

What it can do, however, is tap into the innate liberalism of the British people which social attitude surveys show is growing stronger with each successive generation.

Last week, the front page of this newspaper announced the “strange death of liberal Britain”. But look at the views of the generation born after 1979 and it is impossible not to see a future for British liberalism and, if they can divest themselves of some of their favourite prejudices, for the Liberal Democrats too.

For rather than identifying either with the Left or the Right as the pre- and post- war generations did, and do, today’s young combine the social liberal views of the Left (secular, internationalist, concerned about the environment, relaxed about lifestyle choices and family structures) and the classical liberal views of the Right (in favour of balanced budgets, low taxation, conditional welfare, personal responsibility, individual choice and entrepreneurship) without seeing any contradiction between the two.

This increasingly educated, empowered, technologically savvy cohort is left cold by the conservatism of the Tory party and the collectivism of the Labour party. They are instinctive liberals. They just need a liberal party to vote for.