Brexit could save the Lib Dems

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Who says? Chris Deerin, that's who:

The Lib Dems, despite what many of us thought, are not necessarily done for. They have not kicked the bucket, run down the curtain or joined the bleedin’ choir invisible. And for this they have Cameron and his disastrous referendum to thank. 

Clegg and co may justifiably view Brexit as a calamity, but as the old political truism has it, every crisis contains an opportunity. And as Alex Salmond is fond of saying, you must play the ball as it lies.

And:

Brexit also seems likely to serve as something of a ground zero. Such is its epochal import that much of what has gone before could be wiped away — clean slates and fresh starts and all that. 

The Lib Dems have long been dogged by their (entirely sensible) u-turn on tuition fees, but it surely now seems a bit pre-war to continue holding it against them. 

And where that spell in coalition government counted was judged harshly in the short–term, it may play to their advantage over a longer period. After all, they didn’t screw up in power. 

Quite the opposite: their ministers competently delivered a decent number of social-democratic policy wins, including taking the lowest earners out of income tax, ensuring extra money was spent on the most disadvantaged schoolchildren, and keeping the government focused on the environment. 

The idea that the party is unfit for office has been debunked.

If you are a Liberal Democrat wanting more encouragement, read Stephen Bush.