Here’s Nick Clegg speaking to BBC Breakfast about the party’s red lines announced over the last day on education and the economy. He called for a “stability budget” to ensure that the recovery, which, as George Crozier pointed out the other day, is a Liberal Democrat economic recovery, continues. The growth figures announced this morning show that we are not fully out of the woods yet, although we are certainly seeing some sunshine. The message from the party is clear: we wouldn’t want to jeopardise what the Liberal Democrats have achieved in the last five years.
And explaining the idea of the “stability budget”
He talks about how the Liberal Democrats can temper the Tory instinct to cut for purely ideological reasons and can add a bit of rigour to Labour “flakiness.”
What isn’t on these videos is that he was asked outright if he’d be prepared to walk away from negotiations if his red lines weren’t met. He simply said: “Yes.”
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8 Comments
The only option left to him is a conservative – libdem coalition. Maybe that was what he wanted.
That is far from the case – for either of your points.
I am disappointed that there has been such disregard by the LD campaign of climate change and associated issues. We seem to have ceded that ground to the Greens
Nick succeeded in coming across as confident and strong on our red lines in this interview. My problem (and I’m guessing the problem other members have) is that while this ‘centre ground’/ ‘stronger economy, fairer society etc.’ stuff may well be a good foundation for our message in the election, it should’ve been built upon with bold policies which take on board what Nick has said and appeal to soft Labour and soft Tories as much as our core support. Instead, it’s taken until now for Nick to set out in stronger terms what our red lines will be. What is still lacking (although at this point it’s too late) is for the party leadership to speak out about some of the more distinctive policies in our manifesto, instead of repeating centrist slogans ad infinitum.
Very few people are interested, most people are getting bored with the election, it has gone on too long. If Clegg is going to have a moment to it will in the debate on Thursday evening. That is his chance to shine against the other two, he will need carefully worded and rehearsed answers to the predicable Tuition Fee, selling people out comments. Otherwise the sooner May 8th arrives the better and we can try and repair the party after its spate of 5th places and lost deposits.
Surely the point to make about ‘Getting the Economy going again’ is to empower the whole population and not just the rich. The latter just store their [Tory Gain] cash in some offshore island etc. I’m a LibDem and will be voting Labour for the first time. And if NC goes into coalition with the Tories again, I will stay with Labour until we have a clear Lib Dem vision once more.
I should add that I hope the Lib Dems will be supporting Labour in some way – our principles will be greatly needed in any Lab-XY?? Coalition. Vince for Chancellor of course – if the the election statistics make that possible.
Why is the EU referendum not one of our red lines? With most of the press with its overseas ownership violently anti European the case for the political as well as the economic is hardly made. With a government which has already isolated itself in Europe can we risk going the whole way? Apparently the Americans are beginning to feel that they cannot rely on us either, as this government has hollowed out our capability both militarily and diplomatically.