Congratulations to the Lib Dems: Winning, not Whinng...

Congratulations are due to the party on two fronts. First, for holding a leadership election without tearing itself apart. Given recent developments being reported in the press about the Labour party - not to mention the leadership contest for the Conservatives already having started, looking at the way Mrs May is sniping at Mr Johnson - is quite an achievement.

Whatever our personal views - and I must admit to having been one of the 43.5% who voted for Norman Lamb - we seem to be able to pull together without unsightly and self-destructive internecine warfare breaking out. I hope this remains the case. After all, we are a member-led party, not one with central control, so I am free to disagree with Tim Farron, if I want to. So are you; or to agree, as you wish. That is one of the benefits of being a Lib Dem. Whether the Labour party, or the Conservatives, given time, can achieve the same is less certain.

The other cause for celebrations is the results from two local elections last week.

As was recently announced, we held the Long Ditton seat on Elmbridge District Council with an increased share of the vote. That the Greens apparently gained a larger increase is largely down to the fact that they did not stand in May! Both the Conservatives and UKIP suffered a fall in their share of the vote.

In the Town Council election in Seaford, the situation was even better. From having no candidate at all at the last opportunity, in March 2014, we managed to win the seat with a whopping 35.68% of the vote, reducing the Independent and Conservatives share of the vote by roughly a quarter in each case.

This is no mean achievement for a party that the BBC seems almost to have written off, is it? But then, how many people really believe it holds to its basic mandate of political neutrality? Perhaps removing the license fee would be a good thing; it might make that body more aware of the inclinations of the electorate and less reliant on its own left-wing opinions.

But enough of sniping at the press, let's simply bask in the reflected glory of good news for the party.

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Stephen Phillips is a member of the Shepway Liberal Democrats, and his views are not necessarily those of the Party. He has been writing professionally for many years on investment and economic related issues, and has focussed recently on creative writing.

You can find Stephen online at www.phillips-writer.co.uk