Norman Baker singled out as Lib Dems' new rising star
Home Office Minister has joined Vince Cable at the top of the members’ list of good performers
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Norman Baker, the Home Office Minister, is the Liberal Democrats’ new rising star in the eyes of party activists, according to a survey of grassroots opinion.
Mr Baker, who has fought the Lib Dems’ corner since being promoted to the Home Office last October, has joined Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, at the top of the members’ list of good performers.
Mr Baker enjoys a “net satisfaction rating” – the difference between the number of members satisfied and dissatisfied with his performance - of plus 58 per cent, up sharply from 37 per cent three months ago. Mr Cable has a rating of plus 59 per cent in the poll of 750 party members by the Lib Dem Voice website.
They are well ahead of Nick Clegg, who is in the bottom five performers with a net satisfaction rating of only plus 17 per cent - even though the Lib Dem leader has been increasingly critical of Conservative policies in recent months. However, his aides pointed out that the figure is up from plus 11 per cent three months ago.
The others in the top five are Steve Webb, the Pensions Minister, and Lynne Featherstone, the International Development Minister (both plus 56 per cent) and Jo Swinson, the Consumer Affairs Minister (plus 49 per cent).
The bottom five also includes David Laws, the Schools Minister; Baroness Randerson, the Welsh Office Minister; Dan Rogerson, the Environment Minister and Lord McNally, the former Justice Minister.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments