Senior Lib Dem fears coalition makes vote 'pointless'
The leader of the Lib Dems in Liverpool has said he fears people will see no point in voting for the party after it formed the coalition government.
Councillor Warren Bradley, council leader until the election, criticised the government's cuts to the Building Schools for the Future programme.
Twenty six school building projects have been cancelled in Liverpool.
In an e-mail leaked to the Liverpool Post he said the "weak coalition" could see the party "wiped out".
Mr Bradley's e-mail said the party would be overtaken by Labour in the North and the Conservatives in the South.
Mr Bradley, who was leader of Liverpool City Council for five years until May, said the school building move was "abhorrent" and that coalition policies could turn voters away from the party.
Mr Bradley told BBC News: "I see a time where maybe the electorate will say, well actually, what's the point in voting Liberal Democrat because they'll join a coalition with the Tories, therefore we'll vote Labour.
"And that is clearly not what I got involved in politics for, and not what most Liberal Democrats stand for."
He added: "It is abhorrent to even consider a Building Schools for the Future not going ahead now.
"I just see a continual stream of bad news that will turn the core Liberal Democrat voters off.
"Historically Liverpool has been good for Liberal Democrat voters - it has always had a very high percentage.
"They are telling me now that they feel uneasy with the coalition and uneasy with the decisions being taken."
A spokesman for the Liberal Democrat party head office declined to comment.