BBC’s Sunday Politics looked at recent statements by leading Lib Dems – including three of the Coalition’s biggest champions, Nick Clegg, Danny Alexander and David Laws – widely seen as an attempt to differentiate the party from the Conservatives:
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Firstly this was not really a discussion on how the Liberal Democrats differentiation their message from the governments. Secondly Andrew must have picked these two politicians to support his own view that the Coalition will not continue to the general election. I can’t see any conditions in which Nick Clegg would lead the Liberal Democrats out of government this side of a general election. The Coalition government was for five years and I believe there are still Liberal Democrat policies in the coalition agreement that haven’t been implemented. The only way we can get credit for the economic recovery is to stay in government.
” … The only way we can get credit for the economic recovery is to stay in government. ”
I am not sure that “get credit” is how many of our former supporters and voters would express it.
How about. — “take the blame” ?
For example those civil servants and public sector workers who have not had a pay rise since before the general election, many of them used to vote Liberal Democrat. Many have lost their jobs. How many will be giving credit for the wonderful state of the economy that Clegg takes such pride in?
Or those people paying the bedroom tax because they had the cheek to have a spare room, how many of them will be giving credit?
I doubt that even the bankers with their multimillion pound bonuses will thank Nick Clegg for their good fortune.
I agree that there are lots of people who have other issues with us (as I do) but for the leadership which would make the decision to leave government the idea that we should stay in government to get part of the credit (assuming there is some to get) for the economic recovery is a reason to stay in government, which was the point I was making.