Lost

In policy terms it depends what you’re comparing it with. The realistic alternative was a 2nd election leading to a Conservative majority. That government would have been worse.

Thinking like campaigners not thinking like a government.

(Obviously the Lib Dems played the politics of government badly, I have no delusions about that)

This immigration stuff is bad politics because they’re
A) trying to make it into a sword issue when at best it can be a shield
B) trying to win the politics of it today rather than to get the substance in shape for a contest in 40 months from now.

Labour has no such excuse.

And no ability to see (or take advantage of) the political power that comes from being in charge.

Like controlling the parliamentary agenda, hundreds of billions of public spending, hundreds of millions of comms spending, and the actual law.

Being in government is obviously far better if you want to actually run the country your way.

Lib Dems were ambivalent about that for both weak-minded “we liked complaining” reasons and because we *didn’t* get to run the country our way.

I’m sure we had lockers at school, but maybe I’ve just absorbed a false memory from too much American TV.