Shirl the Pearl: "Slowly Disintegrating Towards Us"

Was struck yesterday on Andrew Neill's Daily Politics to hear Baroness Williams' pearl of wisdom. Describing parts of the country abandoning the Tories she spoke of them "slowly disintegrating towards us". I would agree with her apparent point that lending votes to the apolitical Lib Dems is "disintegrating" though I'm not quite sure that's quite what she meant.
TRIVIA SPOT: Gang of Four colleague Bill Rodgers' daughter was a contemporary at University of Manchester and long time co-pilot of our union newspaper editor.
Sadly it all ended in tears after a one night stand on his part, in solidarity and experimentation with a dashing Kurdish revolutionary.