The holy grail of liberal politics has crumbled in Nick Clegg’s hands, but the Liberal Democrat plight also means bad news for wider politics in the UK

The winners and losers of last week’s election results were eminently predictable: the No to AV campaign succeeded, the Scottish National Party triumphed, and the Liberal Democrats suffered at every turn. The voters’ judgements were surprisingly savage however, argues Bryan Gould, as he outlines the wider political repercussions of the Liberal Democrats’ losing streak.