The Liberal Democrats could build on their Eastleigh
by-election win and gain up to 30 seats from the Conservatives at the general
election, the Party President has suggested.
Tim Farron, the Lib Dem President, said the result in
Eastleigh shows that the Conservatives are "a lot weaker" in many key
seats than had been realised.
The Liberal Democrats won the Eastleigh constituency in the
recent Parliamentary by-election while the Conservatives were beaten into third
place.
Mr Farron told Sky News that the result showed the Lib Dems
can hope to win seats from the Conservatives at the next general election.
He said: "What this by-election tells you is not
necessarily the overall picture of British politics, but it does tell you an
awful lot about seats like this: in other worlds, the other 56 seats we hold
and the perhaps 20 or 30 Conservative-Liberal Democrat marginals after
that."
He added: "Liberal Democrats have got strength on the
ground, good councils, good organisations and not just win but win well and
gain seats. It shows you the Conservative position is a lot weaker in
Conservative-Liberal Democrat marginals."
Mr Farron told the BBC: "It's a massive morale boost
for Liberal Democrats up and down the country, lots of people had written us
off and they were absolutely wrong."
