The Liberal Democrats at Pooh Corner

If you were using the Liberal Democrats to cast a dramatisation of Winnie-the-Pooh, Vince Cable would be Eeyore and Paddy Ashdown would surely be Tigger. Ashdown may be advancing into his eighth decade, but the former leader bounces with energy and optimism, even when contemplating the prospects for his party.

writes Andrew Rawnsley, opening an interview with Paddy Ashdown in tomorrow's Observer.

So if Vince is Eeyore and Paddy is Tigger, what about the rest of A.A. Milne's characters?

We lost our Wol when Roy Jenkins died, though I suppose Ming Campbell comes somewhere close today.

And Nick Clegg must be Rabbit, with his busyness and confidence in his own judgement. He even has an office of Friends and Relations to brief against those who question his leadership.

But who are Pooh and Piglet and Kanga and Roo? And where is Christopher Robin?