Writing in today's Guardian Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Menzies Campbell says the government cannot justify the continuing presence of our troops unless it shows it has learned from its failures and that only a UN-led peace process can halt the Iraq catastrophe.
The Conservatives only just retained their seventeenth safest seat in the country with a tiny 633 majority, despite a huge swing to the Liberal Democrats from both the Conservatives and Labour. A swing repeated in Bedford would see the Liberal Democrats gain the Parliamentary seat at the next General Election.
Gordon Brown has given his support for maintaining Britain as a nuclear power, angering some on the Labour left. Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Nick Harvey said "We are rushing headlong into a decision on nuclear weapons which should be considered over a much longer timescale."
Charles Clarke has said the Labour Government is lacking leadership and direction because Tony Blair has lost his sense of purpose. The former Home Secretary has spoken of the Government becoming becalmed and in an attack on his successor John Reid said Mr Blair's decision to sack him has stalled Home Office reform.
Responding to Tony Blair's speech on crime, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Nick Clegg MP said "This is clearly an admission of failure by the Prime Minister. It is striking that after 10 years in power, the gap between his rhetoric and reality is wider than ever. It is a continuing failure of government policy that is letting people down, not some nebulous 'liberal establishment' or an ill-defined need to 'rebalance' the system. We have prisons bursting at the seams, a judiciary at loggerheads with the Government, a probation service on its knees, falling conviction rates for serious crimes, one of the highest rates of reoffending in Western Europe, and a Home Office in a state of institutional meltdown."
A new generation of nuclear power stations will cost taxpayers and consumers tens of billions of pounds, Sir Menzies Campbell MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats has warned.
