Did Chris Huhne really win the Liberal Democrat leadership?

In a bizarre twist of events, Atticus in the Times has a snippet about the vagaries of the Christmas post winning Nick Clegg the leadership due to late ballots. He says;

The deadline for party members to have sent in their ballot papers was Saturday, December 15. But officials arrived the following Monday to find a pile of more than 1,000 late entries, according to insiders at party headquarters.

Lord Rennard, the party’s chief executive, asked Clegg and his rival, Chris Huhne, whether they wanted to include the new ballot papers. But the Clegg camp said no – after all, rules is rules – and he went on to win by 511 votes to become the party’s third leader in less than two years.

Rules may be rules, but who decided to hold a postal ballot this close to Christmas?

As Atticus continues:

It’s possible, of course, that every one of the late entries was a vote for Clegg. But it’s widely thought that Huhne was catching up.

Which is the way I sensed things. And to think that Jesus' birthday may have won Clegg the leadership and he doesn't even believe in God! Sheesh!

On a more serious note, this is a cockup of Scottish, if not Floridian proportions, drawing the whole ballot into question for the bitter for now, and for the doubters (and when things get tough, and they always do for a while, there will be doubters) later. It will make things much harder for Nick Clegg.

However Atticus finishes:

“Both camps have decided on a truce and have agreed not to mention this,” said a party source.

Well I am so pleased someone has!

Hat Tip to UKPaul on Politicalbetting.com.