A challenging role

This week Lib-Dem veteran Simon Hughes was elected as deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats. I remember Hughes from when he was a fresh faced young politician in the 80s. I've always had a lot of time for him and felt he spoke a lot of sense. And now he finds himself in a position that is possibly the most challenging of his political career.

I think he's the right man for the job. Whilst I believe that both candidates were strong (Tim Farron obviously has done an amazing job increasing his vote in his own constituency, producing a huge swing from the Tories against both national and regional trends) and if the party had been in coalition with Labour he may well have been the better choice, but with the current coalition the Lib-Dems need a deputy leader on the left of their party, where Mr Hughes proudly proclaims himself to be.

Whatever the real reasons for Vince Cable's resignation from the position, it has proved a smart move for the Lib-Dems. With Nick Clegg firmly ensconced in the government, they need a deputy who can be more challenging towards the government and maintain the party's own identity and challenge to their coalition partners in forthcoming elections. So the challenge for Mr Hughes is to provide constructive opposition from within the government, to develop policies and a standpoint on issues (such as tuition fees) where the Lib-Dems differ from their coalition partners and to do so without either splitting the party or the coalition. That is a very difficult juggling act and if Mr Hughes can manage that, he may just end up doing more for the party than any of its leaders ever have.