The Liberal Democrats: The Unexpected Frontline of Bremain?

The Liberal Democrats are looking to raise £50,000 for 'Remain' by the end of tonight. They have assembled a group of major donors - who will double every 10 pounds donated - in order to help this.

At the bottom of one email I received from the party (I'm on their emailing list) was attached this quite interesting footnote:

"By the way, we have run more events and reached more people than any other party, and 4 times as many as the Tories."

Hmmph. Interesting!

For the Liberal Democrats, Britain's most Europhilic party alongside the Greens, whose leader rushed to debate the UKIP surge in the 2014 elections, it was inevitable that they would back 'Remain' and would be one of the fiercest proponents of staying in the European Union.

The Liberal Democrat campaign, however, has been based around positive messages regarding the EU - very much in contrast to the so-called 'Project Fear' of other 'Remain' groups. Several days of action under the banner of '#InTogether' have meant street stalls engaging with voters on the ground - perhaps adding some substance to the bold claim above (pun intended).

Certainly, it would have been expected by most political speculators that the EU referendum would have given the Liberal Democrats - associated strongly amongst the electorate with the open-minded, forwards-thinking and outwards-looking case for remaining the European Union - the best opportunity possible for their re-emergence in British politics after their harrowing defeat last year.

This resurgence hasn't surfaced yet in the polls - mainly due to a lack of media coverage, recently gauged by one university to perhaps being as little as 1% in the EU referendum debate. It is notable, therefore, that positive messages of 'Remain' groups like the Liberal Democrats are being shunted by groups like the Tories and the 'Britain Stronger In Europe' campaign, which are spearheading the media coverage with far more negative campaign messages.