"Cleggmania" cost the Liberal Democrats key marginals in the general election as activists mistakenly campaigned in unwinnable seats, a study has revealed.
The first in-depth analysis of this year's race has found that the huge surge of support for Nick Clegg in the opinion polls in April led local parties in "no-hope" constituencies to believe they had a chance of winning.
Instead of travelling to target marginals, some activists stayed in their own area against the advice of the party's Cowley Street HQ, whose own private canvass returns showed that Mr Clegg's popularity on the ground was nowhere near as high as the polls suggested.
The British General Election of 2010, by political scientists Dennis Kavanagh and Philip Cowley, reveals that the sharp spike in support for the Lib-Dems was "not an unalloyed blessing" for the leadership.
The study found that the party's canvass returns — like those of their rivals — "were not detecting the same surge in support for the party as that picked up by the polls".
Professors Kavanagh and Cowley write: "Cleggmania also caused a problem on the ground, as party activists — previously very willing to travel, often quite long distances, to help out in winnable seats — began to insist they could win their local constituency." A senior Lib-Dem described this as "hubris".
The research, published later this month, also cites senior Lib-Dems describing their party as "like an adolescent child" and admitting that they had "7,000 policies that no one gives a flying f**k about".
