Meltdown

Top Liverpool Lib Dem Paul Clein resigned as the council's Education portfolio holder today. In an open e-mail, he explained that "Labour will say we are in meltdown – that is not true."

He also accused the Lib Dem leader and former leader of 'appearing to believe the financial situation of the city is far less important than trying to exact petty revenge,' saying that there was 'no free and open debate in the 'smoke-filled rooms', accused the leadership of deselecting Cllr Kevin Firth because he had dared to criticise them, but made the point that 'this was just the straw which broke the camel's back' after several months of disasters.

This was meant to be Liverpool Lib Dems' finest year - holding their party's national conference in the city during the year of the Capital of Culture. Having a senior councillor resign five weeks before the elections, deselecting three councillors who criticised the leadership, being judged the worst council in the country for financial management - if that's not a meltdown, does that mean Cllr Clein knows that there are other and still worse calamities still to come?