Westminster blog

So where is Sir Menzies Campbell? That was the one question everyone gathered on the steps of the Liberal Democrats’ headquarters wanted to know. That, and "who wielded the dagger?" of course.

The informed gossip suggested Sir Menzies, 66, had got out of London fast and was in his way to his constituency home in Scotland, a broken man.

So upset was the party leader that he did not appear on television to announce his own resignation. That was left to Vince Cable, deputy leader, and Simon Hughes, party president.

Their warm words of gratitude rang a little hollow, especially after Mr Cable had popped up on the BBC radio lunchtime news to tell the world Sir Menzies’ position was "under discussion" but not under threat.

In the end, it was the party’s disastrous poll ratings that did for him. Following weeks of speculation about his future, Mr Hughes set the ball rolling at the weekend, with some less than loyal comments suggesting that Sir Menzies needed to up his game.

Sir Menzies hit back, calling the sniping "idle chatter" and reiterated his promise at the party’s September annual conference to lead it into the next election.

All to no avail. His defiance did not go down well. And, urged on by ordinary members and some peers, his own colleagues appeared to lose patience on Monday.   

At a private meeting with senior members of his team this afternoon, it is thought Sir Menzies made it clear that he could not turn round the party’s dismal poll ratings and it was time to make way for someone else. "It was like looking at a slow motion car crash," was how one fly on the wall described the scene.

Was it Chris Huhne, the ambitious former journalist and economist, or Nick Clegg, the party’s home affairs spokeman, who wielded the knife? It was unlikely to have been a single assassin. What is certain is that neither Mr Cable or Mr Hughes, whose support Sir Menzies would have needed, were prepared to back him. Sir Menzies, hearing Mr Cable’s interview, apparently decided it was over.

What now? Well, the timetable for a leadership contest, the second time the party has had to choose a new leader since the 2005 election, will be announced tomorrow. Mr Clegg is the bookmakers’ favourite to take over. But what odds on a surprise return for Charles Kennedy, the ginger-haired talisman ousted by his former colleagues nearly two years ago?