Mohammed Zulfikar

"All those who vote Lib Dem in the belief that they represent a ‘progressive’ voice in British politics will be scratching their heads this morning." writes Salma Yaqoob, leader of the Respect Party. "Thanks to the Lib Dems we now have a Tory government. Working class communities, like the ones I represent in Sparkbrook, are fearful of a Tory government. And for good reason. Many remember what the Tories did last time in power. They remember mass unemployment, attacks on public services, growth of inequality, riots on our streets, and they do not want a repeat. Well, the Lib Dems have made that Tory threat real again. We will suffer for that because the Tories will swing the axe in a more brutal way than Labour would have done.

"But the Lib Dems will suffer too, " continues Salma. "This will prove toxic for the Lib Dems at the ballot box and they will bear the brunt of the backlash to the cuts from the electorate. I expect to see Lib Dems advances over the last few years in inner city Birmingham, advances made on the backs of the anti-war movement, to be wiped out in the coming period. The Liberal Democrats have shed any right to claim progressive credentials. It is only right they suffer the backlash from those who mistakenly thought otherwise of them."