The Liberal Democrats have suffered the loss of their chief executive, Chris Fox, who resigned on the first day of the political season. His resignation comes less than a fortnight before the start of the party's annual autumn conference.
Fox, who has been chief executive of the party since 2009, said:
"It has been an enormous privilege and pleasure to serve the party as Chief Executive since July 2009 and as Director of Policy and Communications prior to that.
"Stepping down from this role is one of the most difficult decisions of my life, but on a personal level I feel that now is the right time to move on.
"There is no good time for changes like this, but one thing is clear: we need whoever is in place as Chief Executive at the beginning of 2012 to be in the job until 2015 at least – through to the next General Election and beyond."
Chris Fox's resignation comes on the same day as the emergence of an internal Lib Dem memo and questionnaire, which attempts to find the causes for the party's failures in the English council elections and AV referendum four months ago.
The Lib Dems' document, which is published on the grassroots blog Lib Dem Voice, reads:
"It is clear that Liberal Democrat achievements in Government had not been successfully communicated – and there was often an unwillingness to do so on the doorstep even when it may well have helped considerably. The impact of the debate on tuition fees and NHS reform etc undoubtedly played a part."
The paper also suggests that Nick Clegg's insistence on holding the AV referendum on the same day as the council elections may have contributed to such a resounding No vote.
The document says:
"There were strategic errors made before the campaign began. The decision to push for the referendum to be held on the same day as other elections was taken for the positive reasons of maximising turnout and minimising the cost to the public purse. But in hindsight that meant that Liberal Democrat activists in areas with elections were unable to give enough time to the Yes campaign, and were impacted by the tactics of the No Campaign."
The paper includes a questionnaire for grassroots activists to answer before conference. The causes of the Lib Dems' failures in May will be debated in Birmingham in a fortnight's time.
Earlier Nick Clegg sought to set out his party's position on Free Schools, insisting he wouldn't allow them to be run for a profit.
The free schools policy is seen as a distinctly Tory strand of the Coalition Agreement, with Lib Dem activists voting against it at their party conference last year over concerns that it is socially divisive.
Clegg said: "I am confident we have mitigated those risks to make sure this is now a policy which will promote higher standards, better integration and fairer chances especially for children from the most deprived backgrounds.
"They must not be the preserve of the privileged few - creaming off the best pupils while leaving the rest to fend for themselves, causing problems for and draining resources from other nearby schools. So let me give you my reassurance - I would never tolerate that."