Lib Dems - another U-turn on Europe?

The word from Bournemouth is that the Lib Dems are going all out to soften Vince Cable’s apparent U-turn on the euro.

Ed Davey has been trying to patch things up with a rallying speech proclaiming: "We are and always will be the party of Europe."

He said: “We have the confidence to stand unambiguously for Europe”, while Charles Kennedy accused the Government of being "insufficiently engaged,” and said the Tories preached disengagement.

But hang on a minute, isn’t this the party that less than 4 months ago forced its MPs to abstain on the Commons vote on the promised referendum on the EU Constitution Lisbon Treaty?

Isn’t this the party that sacked three frontbenchers for honouring their commitments by refusing to abstain and voting in favour of a referendum?

Isn’t this the party that changed its position on the referendum three times, before eventually arriving at a botch-up?

How much more disengaged can you get? How much further away from “standing unambiguously for Europe"?

The Lib Dems are currently forecast to lose two thirds of their 53 English seats in the upcoming election to the Tories. Chris Huhne, in particular, will be doing his best to make his Eastleigh constituents forget the fact that after they voted by more than 90% for a national referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, he went and voted against one in Parliament.