Lord Rennard

Don't you think that if he did apologise now he wouldn't really mean it and would therefore mean nothing.

If he admitted his behaviour was unacceptable then an apology might mean something.

I agree sunseeker - and I think Clegg did his best to give Lord R a get out clause.
I suspect lots of us have apologised "I'm sorry if what I did upset you, I didn't mean to cause distress". And that would usually be for phrasing something in a way that could be misconstrued. I genuinely don't see how it's possible to touch people in a way that could be felt to be sexual, or to touch breasts, bottoms, stroke legs etc, without that being construed as a sexual advance.

it's a cliffhanger. Will the wounded bull-mammoth join the herd this afternoon, or not?
I can't see how he is not, now, bringing the party into disrepute by refusing to apologise and by refusing to accept the findings of the QC.
Clegg must be furious with him, and with his lord cronies that are saying that it is a big fuss about nothing. Don't think it is a fuss about nothing when young would-be MPs are getting hit on by the man that runs the party. Even if all he did was "make a pass" - completely out of order.

What I find incredible about all this is the arrogance of this man. Not being rude, but has he looked in the mirror lately? if so, whatever leads him to believe that anyone, never mind a young person would be even remotely flattered or interested in any approach by him, a portly(!!) ageing, and frankly unattractive man! Of course his behaviour was quite unacceptable and not only has he brought the liberal party into disrepute but made an enormous fool of himself, a laughing stock I would have thought! He should have apologised without reservation for any hurt, embarrassment or upset that his behaviour inadvertently(!!) caused. A bit late for that now - contrived is a word that comes to mind!

It is now a jousting match between men trying to prove how big they are. Clegg and associates v Rennard and associates, the women seem to have been lost somewhere.

They are now saying that Rennard might not be going to the House of Lords today as he is ill because he has diabetes. He's had that for a while; I do not see how that makes him too ill to do his job if necessary, or to appear as a crossbencher and be snubbed.

He's been suspended. Clegg had to be seen to stand up to him. Rennard has been viewed as "god" by many in the party according to the telegraph. Wonder what his cronies will think/do now?

Good. He reminds me of a big fat spoilt baby. He is (was) powerful and thought he could get away with such unacceptable behaviour for years. There are many such as he out there, unfortunately. Nowadays women should have more of a voice, but it doesn't seem to be the case quite often.

Yes margaretm, know what you mean, there is an awful photo I have seen of him many times in shorts and flat sandals, the sort of attire you see little boys aged 2 or 3 wearing. Not a good look on a very overweight middle aged? jowly man! Glad he's been suspended, unwanted mauling is horrible for the recipient and often made light of.

Now he's making himself out to be the victim!

Just watched the Newsnight report about this - Emily Maitliss actually referred to it as 'a tragedy'! Oh dear, poor Lord Rennard...

'Sorry seems to be the hardest word.'

It is a valid point that by not having proper procedures you also hang the accused person out to dry. It does not do them any favours to have allegations floating around which they say are untrue. And of course the organisation suffers. Managers sometimes complain about having to have and follow HR procedures but I always say "the procedures are partly there to cover your arse and stop it getting messy"

Stupid man! He should apologise! Didn't I see somewhere that the accusations couldn't be proved, but there was strong evidence to support it.

And now he is taking court action to overturn his suspension, on procedural grounds (i.e. they did not follow party rules in suspending me).
Seems that he is fighting his corner, no matter what the cost to the LibDem party that he has worked so hard for. Getting egged on, obviously.

Will Clegg to survive this brutal rebellion by some of the senior member of his party?

Speaking from experience (and you'll have to take my word for that), I know that no Lib Dem Party disciplinary committee would go ahead with suspending so prominent a member without having the best possible constitutional advice from another senior officer of the party.

You would think so wouldn't you! Specially after the mess.

I'm sure they have taken constitutional, and probably legal advice. What is the matter with this chap, and his supporters. If I hear another senior lib dem apologist say people are comparing him to JS, I may just, well shout probably. I haven't heard anyone comparing Lord R's behaviour to that of a serial, predatory and dangerous sex offender. That isn't the point, but they just don' seem to get that. So sad for Lib Dem supporters, and for the rest of us, as we definitely need a 3rd party we can trust

Musing on the role of "kingmaker" which Rennard filled for years - top dog in the party but not going for election himself. Started as a political agent, fresh out of student politics and worked his way up from there.
There is a headline in the Mail today that made me sigh:

www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2543549/SARAH-VINE-Why-didnt-Lib-Dem-ladies-just-old-goat-slap.html

I saw that too Jess but didn't bother reading it. I thought Quentin Letts' piece was a good one though.

If that apostrophe is wrong, I'm sorry

Not that smug awful Sarah Vine again! Probably they didn't because he was the all-powerful one who made the decisions about who landed which job or became a prospective candidate?

I like Quentin Letts, he can come across as a bit of a PSB but he's very sharp and funny.

Yes, that smug awful Sarah Vine. I also saw the headline, but confess to having skimmed through her piece. Loathsome, heartless and simply dim was my conclusion. (Sitting on the fence as you can see)

Yes margaretm74 - not hard to work that one out SV. People might "slap" someone of equal status but how many people at the bottom of the pecking order go round "slapping" alpha males? Would she have "slapped" a managing editor of a newspaper when she was a junior reporter? Is it a wise idea "slapping" men anyway - can they be relied upon to hit back?