Charlotte Henry

Whether it is tuition fees or local development, the Lib Dems are generally not known for their consistency. Trust me, I campaigned for them during the coalition years. This week, things took an almost surreal turn. Party leader Sir Ed Davey, along with his deputy and health spokesperson Daisy Cooper and three other colleagues, voted in favour of Rishi Sunak’s age-dependent tobacco and vapes ban. Perhaps in these turbulent political times we should just be grateful that the party remains consistently inconsistent That might seem odd enough from supposed liberals – whatever happened to personal choice and adult informed consent? However, Davey, Cooper and co. are also MPs from a party that supports the legalisation of cannabis.

'When the facts change, I change my mind,' John Maynard Keynes is (wrongly) claimed to have said. Whatever the origin of the quote, Theresa May seems to be taking it to heart - and, as a floating voter, I’m delighted. But it seems there aren't many who share that view, given that May's shifting stance on certain issues became such a major focus of her interview with Jeremy Paxman last night. I used to be a Lib Dem so I am fully aware of the kind of horror that a U-turn on major policy can bring. However, sometimes it can also show a quite sensible approach. After all, we all regularly change our opinions based on new information and experience. Why should we not afford politicians that same right? In fact, if we should want anyone to adapt, it should be them.

After Zac Goldsmith's decision to step down as an MP and trigger a by-election in Richmond Park, the Liberal Democrats are excited. They’re getting hot under their collars because they think they can snatch back a seat they lost to the Tories in 2010 and add to their lowly tally of eight MPs. A new poll out today suggests their chances don't look good: the BMG phone survey puts Zac 27 points ahead of his Lib Dem rival Sarah Olney in the upcoming election. But is it really safe to write off the Lib Dems' chances so easily? The party is, against all the odds, enjoying something of a resurgence of late: membership is soaring and Tim Farron is doing his best to make his party the destination of choice for disgruntled 'Remainers'.

After May’s general election, both Labour and the Lib Dems needed a new leader, but the contrast between their leadership elections could not be starker. Labour is in the midst of a full-blown civil war. To outsiders, it appears to be a party in total meltdown, as veteran left-winger Jeremy Corbyn continues to poll ahead of his more mainstream rivals. Meanwhile, the Lib Dems MPs are under new leadership, after the bloodless ascension of Tim Farron, who beat rival Norman Lamb in a relatively good-natured contest. It would be easy to dismiss the leader of eight MPs as insignificant, but it matters profoundly to Lib Dem members who want to rebuild their party.

Vince Cable will tomorrow lose his job as Liberal Democrat economy spokesman for the election, Coffee House understands. The party is set to announce its team of leading spokespeople for the General Election and I have obtained names in advance. Cable's demotion in favour of Danny Alexander has been expected for a few months now. The Business Secretary will speak for the party on business. A well-placed source indicates that Lynne Featherstone will continue covering home affairs, Jo Swinson is due a job of some description and it’s likely that Baroness Susan Kramer will continue speaking on transport. However, there will be no role for Kramer’s colleague in the Lords, Baroness Lindsay Northover.

Ukip are desperate to build on the momentum from their Rochester win as the general election looms ever closer. At the very top of the party figures including leader Nigel Farage and Deputy Chairman Suzanne Evans have made no secret of the fact that they’d like their next major defector to come from Labour. So, are Ukip going to succeed in wooing over a Labourite, and if so, who? Former Cabinet member Kate Hoey has the right Eurosceptic credentials for Ukip, although her Vauxhall constituency doesn’t lend itself to joining the purple ‘people’s army’, given Ukip’s weakness in London. I got in touch with her office and Hoey replied saying ‘I am not prepared to waste any time on this’. Hardly the categorical denial her whips would like.

Speaking at a south London primary school this morning, Nick Clegg firmly reiterated the Lib Dems’ equidistance between the two other major parties. Before an assortment of public-sector workers, Clegg attacked the potential 'reckless borrowing' of Eds Balls and Miliband, as well as George Osborne asking 'the working poor to bear the brunt' of cuts. 'In the centre,' he said, 'my party, the Liberal Democrats, we believe in sound public finances, supporting strong public services.' Stop me if you’ve heard this before. What was (sort of) new was Clegg stating that, 'once we’ve balanced the books, clearing the so-called structural deficit, the Liberal Democrats will increase public spending in line with Britain’s economic growth.

The Liberal Democrats have always been a party of contradictions. In the time I've been a member, as well as a journalist covering the party, few of its contradictions have baffled me more than the fact that it is called the Liberal Democrat party but it unequivocally fails to support the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. There has always been a strong link between British Jewry and Liberal parties, but the present day Liberal Democrats are broadly not trusted by the Jewish community. This is despite the best efforts of Nick Clegg and others to rebuild links. This was brought home to me only a couple of months ago, when I was knocking on doors for the Lib Dems as a council candidate in the London Borough of Barnet. My ward took in part of the Jewish community in Golders Green.

Lord Oakeshott has gone under the radar, as speculation mounts about his involvement in a bid to oust party leader Nick Clegg. Many believe he is responsible for commissioning a poll that appeared in today’s Guardian, showing that Clegg and other Lib Dems could lose their Commons seats if he remains leader. Looking through the House of Lords Register of Members' interests, it’s clear that Oakeshott is very rich indeed, boasting numerous Directorships and shareholdings. He certainly has the financial clout to fund such a poll. The register reveals something else, too: that Oakeshott has one member of staff, called Naomi Smith. She confirmed to me that she is 'a researcher for him in my spare time'.

Why did Nick Clegg bother debating Nigel Farage? The Ukip leader bagged two decisive victories in the battles. But that doesn't mean the Lib Dem leader has failed to set out what he wanted to do. Clegg needed these debates to reach out to his base, to motivate them to go out campaigning and vote in May. He didn't need to 'win' in order to do that: he just needed to put the case for EU membership loudly and proudly. He had to remind some of his party's supporters why they joined the Liberal Democrats and he needs to motivate pro-Europeans from other parties to lend their vote to the Lib Dems too in order to prevent a wipeout. During the debate on Wednesday the Lib Dems sent a text message to all their members asking for £5 if Nigel Farage was making them angry.

Alistair Webster QC has decided that the threshold for disciplining Lord Rennard for sexually inappropriate behaviour could not be met, and that the allegations could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt. Webster's statement can be read on Lib Dem Voice, as can a statement from Lord Rennard. It is the stomach turning arrogance with which Rennard says he will return to the fold that makes the blood boil the most. No apology, no contrition, just a brazen told-you-so attitude, as if nothing has happened. His legal representative, Lib Dem peer Lord Carlile, does him no favours either. Carlile has condemned the party membership for their response to Lord Rennard, and said that his friend has nothing to apologise for. These responses are wholly at odds with Webster's findings.

The election of the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat parliamentary party is hardly hold the front page stuff. However, whoever wins the contest, triggered this week by Simon Hughes' surprise elevation to ministerial office, will give us a good indication as to where the party currently sees itself. The election is decided by a vote of Lib Dem MPs, as that is who the deputy leader is there to represent, and can only be contested by those who are not ministers. Coaltion has forced the Lib Dems to look at where they stand ideologically, and who the MPs select as their deputy leader will give a strong indication of their 'spiritual' positioning. A left-wing candidate would show a determination of the party to keep themselves within touching distance of Labour.

The Coalition Agreement states: 'We will be strong in defence of freedom. The Government believes that the British state has become too authoritarian, and that over the past decade it has abused and eroded fundamental human freedoms and historic civil liberties.' The Justice and Security Bill, which returns to the Lords on Monday, contains measures that contradict the noble objectives laid out above. This should shame the coalition and the Liberal Democrats in particular, for whom civil liberties are a defining issue. The government has made a last minute amendment (£) to the bill in order to scale back some of the ‘order-making’ powers of the Secretary of State, which will limit the scope of the bill.