Dream team to take LibDems forward as a centre-left party

for an alternative to those dominant behemoths (and a pro-Union alternative to them in Scotland). The more the big two edge outwards to the Left and Right, the more room they leave in the middle.

Why, then, did the LibDems not do better on June 8? Why indeed. The party had that all-important unique selling point: a second EU referendum which, it was fondly imagined, would make the yellow LibDem pennant a rallying point for grieving Remain voters.

But Tim Farron’s agonies over the morality of gay sex for five days at the start of the campaign meant that the antiBrexit message never gained momentum and, in a sadly fractured campaign, Brexit fell down the list of key issues, below police numbers and social care. With its relentless Brexit focus, and the media’s fascination with the Corbyn bounce, the LibDems struggled to get into the story.

Many Remainers had, in any case, accepted that Brexit was happening and were now worrying about damage limitation. Some thought their vote would be better deployed for Labour, which was talking enticingly of a “soft Brexit” – media shorthand for remaining in the single market. As it turned out, Labour’s confused pronouncements were misleading and Jeremy Corbyn rode to the Tories’ rescue three days after the election to confirm that Labour was firmly opposed to the single market. Too late: the LibDems had been caught in a squeeze.

Next time, they will be better prepared. They will now return to the strategy that has served them so well in the past, of building up a presence in local communities (particularly in places where they have previously won), and then nabbing the seat in elections. This was what netted them Edinburgh West and East Dunbartonshire on June 9.

But they must also end their nomadic wanderings and settle on the centre left once and for all, which means keeping their anti-Labour provocateurs in check. Voters need to know beyond doubt that the LibDems put fighting inequality before everything else. It is no accident that the party has fared best when it has looked and felt like a party of the centre left. It is why Nick Clegg’s alacrity in accepting a coalition deal with the

Tories alienated so many.

This is especially true in Scotland, where the overlap in values between Labour and the LibDems helped ensure that Holyrood’s first two coalition governments were so stable. Of all the possible pairings at Holyrood, Labour and the LibDems are probably the most simpatico. It helps that the two tend not to target the same Scottish seats. Willie Rennie and Kezia Dugdale even helped each other out during the election, hinting during a televised debate that their supporters should vote tactically in each other’s target seats.

But it will be critical nevertheless for the LibDems to carve out territory that is distinct from Labour – a relentless focus on Europe is not enough. That means offering a sound centre-left economic prospectus which stresses the need for market regulation and does not shy away from redistributive measures but avoids ideological socialism, a pitch that could prove attractive to voters who share Labour’s values but are worried about Mr Corbyn and John McDonnell’s economic competence.

The Scottish LibDems will have significant influence over the UK party’s priorities, having won one-third of the party’s 12 Westminster seats. (They are also well placed to benefit from the possible collapse of the Scottish Tory bubble because, while Ruth Davidson lacks a meaningful narrative beyond opposing independence, the LibDems offer an alternative to the current chaos of UK politics – federalism.)

Of course, none of it will matter without a leader who can sell the message. Jo Swinson, who emerged from her junior minister post in the coalition relatively unblemished and with a reputation as a champion of women’s rights, would have been a shoo-in but, having ruled herself out for now, there is only one candidate in the running: Vince Cable.

At 74, he is eight years older than Menzies Campbell was when the Scot was forced out as LibDem leader following an ageist media onslaught, and would be taking on the job at a time when attracting younger supporters has never been more important.

But with Ms Swinson as deputy leader, he could still benefit from her voter appeal, much as Alex Salmond did with his protege Nicola Sturgeon; the word is that the two have already done a deal, under which Ms Swinson would take over the leadership before the next General Election.

A bigger problem is that Mr Cable will have to carry the can for his association with coalition austerity policies; quite an albatross. But then he has something that Jeremy Corbyn lacks: a reputation for economic credibility. If he can show voters that his heart is on the centre left then, as the fallout from Brexit starts to rain down, the LibDems, with him and Swinson at the helm, could find themselves back in the foreground of British politics sooner than some expect.