Lib Dem organisation - how effective can they be?

In brief, there is a current news story about Lib Dem Chief Executive Lord Rennard who was accused of sexually harassing women, a claim he denies. The Lib Dem leadership have suspended the party whip for the Lord (who helped them gain electoral success and power in Government) .

The details of the case are complex, as are the nature of the investigation that followed; further details can be found here.

What is more useful for G & P students is this blog post from Nick Robinson who probes the way that the Lib Dem party is run - it is very complex and this complexity has limited the leadership's ability to act:

The Lib Dem party organisation. Photo credit: BBC
Full size version here.