Another female party official said: "The general fear was that he was going to run for party president. The size of his victory over his opponent was what concerned us most. The women, who had previously been encouraged by the success of female MPs such as Jenny Willott, the assistant government whip, and Jo Swinson, the equalities minister, became disheartened. The furore is particularly embarrassing for the Liberal Democrats, having previously styled themselves as being committed to equality. Another of their high-­profile MPs, Lynne Featherstone had also served as equalities minister. Amid claims that Nick Clegg was not doing enough to select women MPs and ministers, there was consternation last year when Sarah Teather, the children's minister, was stripped of her role in a reshuffle. The women's concerns have been exacerbated by Mr Clegg's role in Lord Rennard's comeback. The party leader even went so far as to nominate him as vice-chairman of the International Federation of Liberal Parties after his election to the policy committee late last year. A friend of Lord Rennard's said his decision to quit as chief executive was nothing to do with the allegations of impropriety. "He decided to step down on medical grounds - it was not true that a deal was done," he said. He had problems with his blood balance and was told that if he did not give up before the summer of 2009 he would be dead by the general election. By last October the peer was ready to re-enter the fray, and decided to stand in the elections to the party's Federal Policy Committee, which are held every two years. The committee is highly influential within the party, and produces policy papers that are debated at the annual conference. It also is charged with writing the party's general election manifesto. When the results were announced on Nov 12, Lord Rennard had polled nearly twice as many votes as his nearest challenger, Duncan Brack MP. According to Lord Rennard's friends, the peer had neither sought permission nor offered any assurances to Mr Clegg before deciding to stand. "Chris remains a Liberal Democrat peer, he remains very popular in the party and respected for the work he has done on the elections," one said. So it was natural that he should start to do other things in the party on a voluntary basis as other volunteers do. He just thought he would have a role on the policy committee. That is all there is to it. There was no executive role.