Remember the Lib Dems? They haven't forgotten what they're for

The Lib Dems could make gains in this election, but they are now facing competition from the Greens and Ukip

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron (Getty)

Does anyone remember the Liberal Democrats?

It was never going to be a great night for them, and the results so far confirm that - a gain of a handful of seats on last time. It is, I grant you, the right direction, but the plight of what we used to call the radical centre is still beyond dire.

The conditions were propitious; a divided and unpopular Tory government and a divided and unpopular Labour opposition leaves the goal wide open. But now there are new homes for disaffected voters, such as Ukip and the Greens. The Lib Dems have not yet found a distinctive enough message of their own to make them a natural or compelling home for the protest, let alone creating a constituency that has a positive basis for its support. More than that, the electorate isn't interested in what they have to say after the great tuition fees fiasco and coalition with the Tories. It will take a few years for memories of all that to fade.

Maybe the most worrying challenge for Tim Farron and his crew has been the position in Scotland. With the south west and the soft underbelly of the Tories along the south coast and the English suburbs, Scotland was also something of a bastion. Time was when the Lib Dems could quietly count on Scotland delivering a decent crop of Westminster MPs, had a share in government at Holyrood in coalition with Labour, and Scotland even gave the party two of its leaders - Charles Kennedy and Ming Campbell. Now Scottish leader Wille Rennie, a very likeable figure as well as an effective campaigner, has managed to win a few constituency seats too in the Scottish parliament and has at least kept them in business in their most difficult territory. Some hope for them there.

Since the Liberal Democrats were decimated at the general election, party membership numbers have increased from around 45,000 to 62,000 (Getty)

Some years ago the Lib Dems were going through a torrid local election night and Charles Kennedy was their TV spokesman. Tony Blair was carrying all before him as a fresh new leader of the opposition and "New Labour" was hammering John Major's Tories in a way Jeremy Corbyn can but dream about. On and on and on the BBC presenter went, banging away at how dismal and disappointing the Lib Dem performance had been, how there was no hope and how dare Kennedy even show his face in public. Charlie made no attempt to deny the problems, but, eventually exasperated, he turned on his persecutor with words to the effect "what do you expect us to do? Pack up and go home?" After a night when there was no spectacular revival in fortunes, that is still the right response. The Lib Dems, at any rate, have not forgotten what they are for.