Author Archives: Paul Walter

At the tail end of the leadership campaign, I wrote for Lib Dem Voice about what our new leader should do during his first 100 days. That boiled down to a media blitz – hitting the ground running, etc, etc. Never mind shadow cabinet appointments or internal party anorakking, the new leader had to be on the front foot with the media before he got consumed by them.

I am delighted to report that I think Nick Clegg deserves 10/10 in the hitting the ground running/media blitz stakes. Therefore by the key measure I set (and still set) Nick Clegg has started his leadership brilliantly. He and his team deserve pats on the back and triples all round.

For evidence to back up this, I could do no better than point you to Fraser MacPherson’s excellent round-up of positive coverage for Nick. There was also a glowing leader article in The Guardian.

Basically, Nick has shown that he has sharp elbows and has managed to wedge himself into many media stories on an almost daily basis. Just take the last week. He championed the cause of the Gurkhas. This almost brought tears to my eyes. Normally, championing the cause of veterans would be the exclusive preserve of the Tories. That well known too-smooth operator and law-breaker David Cameron would normally have been presenting the Gurkhas’ case. So well done Nick for turning that old paradigm on its head.

Then, later in the week, Nick managed to get liberally quoted on the subject of Derek Conway MP and the scandalously lax House of Commons expense rules. Another example of sharp elbows. It looks easy, but I am sure there have been sleepless nights and long hours for Nick and his team in order to achieve his high level of media visibility (for a Lib Dem leader).

Of course, the Lisbon treaty thingy has been the main test of Nick’s leadership. Call me an old-fashioned leader sycophant if you like, but I think he rode out that storm with considerable élan and skill. All party leaders face that sort of week. The crucial test is how they handle it. Nick handled it on the front foot, with considerable grace, humour and equanimity. I was particularly impressed that he did the media rounds on the day of the vote (eg, a particularly energetic appearance on Channel 4 News) and appeared relaxed, rational and human.

You only have to look at what hasn’t happened to see what a great success Nick’s first 100 days have been.