mere warthe Lib Dems plan, and that which received most media
"decapitate" attention, to leading Tories in a number of key marginals was less successful.
The only important scalp to fall to them was that of Shadow Education Secretary Tim Collins in Westmoreland.
So how should socialists assess these results? How do we respond to anti-war campaigners like Tariq Ali who called for a vote for the Liberal Democrats in Hornsey and Wood Green as well as for George Galloway?
It is clear from the results that the majority of those who voted Lib Dem in Labour marginals did so to punish new Labour from the left.
FOR most gung-ho.
Nor by and large to those who voted for them, rather than Bomber Blair, know about the Lib Dems record in local government. where they regularly push through the same sorts of packages of cuts and privatisations as new Labour.
This may have been reason why they didn't take one of their target seats in Islington South where there is a Lib Dem administration.
Its true their record in government in the Scottish Parliament hasn't played like that - their overall swing in Scotland was better than elsewhere.
This belies there real record in Holyrood where they voted down free school meals, opposed the abolition of warrant sales and consistently supported PFI. There can be no dobt that if Holyrood had had a vote on the war they would not have the government.
This is the danger opened by people like Tariq Ali, that they sow illusions in this junior party of neo-liberalism and imperialism.
And while Respect's decision only to stand in a small number of seats this time round was vindicated overall, it did leave many without a real socialist alternative to vote for.
With the sucess cof Galloway's election and excellent votes in a number of other seats across the country there is the real opportunity -and a real responsiblity - to build a real socialist alternative to new labour.