Are the Lib Dems facing their final point?

You've got to hand it to the Liberal Democrats. Despite over a year of being allegedly led by Ming the Meaningless it seems that their eventual destruction is rooted in the Kennedy era. Charles Kennedy himself has not exactly been totally denying the possibility of a return to the leadership, but given the circumstances one has to wonder whether he has the judgement to lead a party, let alone present himself to the public pretending to be a potential Prime Minister.

Kerron Cross has details of how the Lib Dems are facing the disaster of not only having to repay a £2.4 million donation from Majorca based businessman Michael Brown (who famously declared that the party were "Muppets" for getting rid of Charles Kennedy) but also have to pay another £2.4 million fine. (KERRON CROSS - The Voice of The Delectable Left: Lib Dems To Go Bankrupt Due To Dodgy Donations? See also Scotsman.com News: Lib Dems face ruin over £4m 'fine') With the party already £1 million in the red it does not have an easy £4.8 million to spare. Individual members could end up having to pay between £50 and £60 each.

In a way this is good news for Ming Campbell though. As well as helping to further discredit the possibility of a Kennedy comeback, it also makes yet another leadership election financially undesirable for the Lib Dems. So his gain is the party's loss. But the party remains in a mess and no court is going to fall for a Lib Dem bar chart "proving" they can't pay.

Once again the Lib Dems' sums don't add up. Kerron says it best:

...it would be rather amusing that the Lib Dems would now be both economically and morally bankrupt.

Well it couldn't happen to a nicer party...

Indeed.