to think Nick Clegg has sunk to new lows during this interview?

[NotFromConcentrate]

Jeremy Vine has just played the audio of Nick Clegg's election campaign video during which he categorically stated no more broken promises. He then went on to outline the lengths Clegg went to to drive home his promise not to allow the raising of tuition fees.

Asked to explain himself, Nick Clegg said (petulantly) "Well, we didn't win". So basically he's saying "Thanks for the votes, suckers, but I'm not in Number 10 therefore you can whistle for whtever crap I promised"

Apologes for the lack of coherence, but I am still spitting feathers!

P.S. Be gentle; this is my first AIBU (I think!)

"I'd be far more likely to vote for an orange with a face drawn on it right now; at least we'd know what we were getting!"

The reality is the only real possibility was a lib-con coalition and to facilitate this the liberals were going to have make severe compromises and endorse Conservative policies, thats what coalition government is.
I also think that some people seem to think that the Lib Demas are some sort of susidary party to the Labour party and so can't concieve that they would govern with the Conservatives.

In my local party (lifetime LD - so far) most of the membership were fairly trusting of Nick Clegg. It was the younger people, the party staff, and the people in "closest" (chair etc) who were freaking out about the deal with the Tories.

Just want to say: we were bloody right.

This "We didn't win" argument is driving me mad. The pledge to vote against any rise in tuition fees was ONLY APPLICABLE IF THEY LOST. Because - presumably - if they had won, they would have implemented their manifesto of abolition of fees - therefore there wouldn't have BEEN a vote to raise tuition fees.

So the ONLY situation in which they could keep their election promise (which bought them significant votes and seats) is if they LOST the election, as in fact they did.

I hate Nick Clegg.

And to longfingernails - the Child Benefit cut is both incompetent and unfair. And the raising of the tax threshold is disingenuous, as it doesn't help the poorest in society as they claim - the poorest pay no tax already. It may well be a good thing, but it doesn't help the 'poorest', their claim is false.

Uyter Exactly.

Labour arrogantly always thought of the Liberal Democrats as the "conscience of the left" - to be patted on the head occasionally, and then laughed away.

It seems that they ignored the entire history of Gladstonian liberalism. They thought the Lib Dems were all cuddly socialists like Vince Cable - when instead, many of them were clearly free marketeers and deficit hawks.

As a Tory voter, I am very glad to see that Labour continue to make the same mistakes when it comes to the Lib Dems. If they don't understand them, how can they possibly deal with them?

A coalition with the Conservatives was the only option we had. The country was in a precarious position with the markets seriously questioning whether we could pay our way in the world. Add to this the firestorm that was developing in the eurozone a strong and stable Government that could take decisive action was the best option for the country.
This has meant that we have had to make serious compromises but that is part and parcel of coalition Government if we had the same policies we'd be the same party.
A minority Conservative Government wouldn't have lasted long (1 year tops) and it would have been able to make the decisions that we need in order to satisfy the markets and prevent meltdown.

"Out of curiosity - how many of you LD supporters used to be labour supporters until the televised election debates, and are now turning back to labour again?"

Me :(

Cleggy has made me have rather fond memories of Gordon though, I must say. It's like when you get a boyfriend who's a total shit, won't be nice to your friends, leaves skids in the bog, comes in pissed reeking of kebab and tries to shag you before passing out. Then you think of you dull old ex who wasn't that much of a dynamo with his grey face and boring voice but at least you knew where you stood.

It's like that, it is.

He is dead behind the eyes. A wimp and a charlatan.

I don't much pity Lib Dem voters, though. Couldn't they see what a absolute failure of a politician the man is? All that media spin surrounding the televised debates seemed to confuse and confuddle some people.

He was a twat, he is a twat. Now he is a twat sitting on the knee of the Tories.

Im feeling a bit sorry for Clegg now, with all these messages. Even though I was really angry because the conservatives seem to be turning him.

I prefer a government with a bit of lib dem rather than a totally tory gov - that would have been a disaster.

I like the policies they have got through, like the rise in tax threshold, and tbh the tuition fees are not as bad as they could have been, but I still want them to honour their pledge and their integrity, and vote against the rise.

"I prefer a government with a bit of lib dem rather than a totally tory gov - that would have been a disaster."

This would be true if there were any LD influence to be seen, thus far.

Clegg's integrity is in the shitter.

So far, all I have heard from the government has been some seriously scary Thatcherite shiznit.

I feel like chanting football-stylee 'Are your players all asleep? Are your players all asleeeeep?'

Piss poor. They would have had much, much more power if they had joined forces with Labour. Dickheads.

"seriously scary Thatcherite shiznit."

Heh heh

I have been corresponding with my local LibDem MP an hen has assured me that he will still be campaigning and voting against the rise in tuition fees.

I do live in a major university town, though.

Oh, Gawd, I know I'm a bit behind, but...

Huddspur, I don't agree. We're in this mess because the financial markets have had whisper-light regulation and so have been able to parcel up all sorts of 'toxic' debts and pay pass the parcel with them until they got caught out. And they've managed to escape the consquences of their actions, almost completely as no-one's going to let another Lehman Bros happen.

And what's it come to when it's 'naive' to expect politicians to at least attempt to honour flagship election policies like tuition fees? We may as well play pin the tail on Nick Cleggthe donkey otherwise.

'Clegg's integrity'. Now there's an oxymoron...

madamimadam The bond markets have nothing to do with toxic debts on banks balancesheets.

Quite cupcakes
I am interested people looked so ahrd at NC when making teh decision to vote; as he ahd zero hope (and am in Wales so less influence here) I looked far ahrder at our local candidates, the LD one ebing someone I know will (and did when we needed her) stick up for the vulnerable when they ask.

I couldn;t do it agin but I don;t regret my vote for her, just sad that she supports a party led by him that will always be unelectable now.

'Clegg's integrity' Now there's an oxymoron.

PMSL LL

"If they had won enough they could have played Labour and the Tories off against each other. "

"That's exactly what the Liberals were doing. And Gordon Brown knew this, which is why he capitulated when he did - because he was buggered if he was going to be used by Clegg to get a better deal with Cameron. Can't say I blame him."

Soooo, are you suggesting that if Brown had put personal and party interest to one side, and held out longer; the Lib Dem negotiation team could have got a better deal with more left wing influence from the Tories - but he just prefered not to?

I'm really sort of not unhappy with the coalition so far; though have been convinced by LadyBlahBlah's argument on the fee pledge being a personal promise; which means that until MPs actually break it by personally voting a certain way they erm, haven't broken it.

So ashamed i was taken in by that shyster! How could i have been so stupid! Never again!I really thought a vote for him, was a vote for change! not this bollocks!

Am loving teh idea GB could ahve utn eprsonal interest to one side and hung on, when at the time all MN was awash with threads about how he was hanging to every ounce of power he could- like him or lathe him the man could not have possibly got it right whatever he did. Fall off a buildinga dn die saving a baby from a fall and he'd ahve been accused of a publicity stunt.

LL Dh ahs quoted you as his facebook status; he enver quotes me. Do you want him? I can DHL him over?....

I am assuming there that there is a great deal of nitty gritty detail that you don't get to see until you are actually in power so it is highly likely that neither DC or NC had as clear a picture of the state of the country's finances pre election as they did post election. If someone doesn't change their approach on receipt of new information they would be irresponsible and pig headed. Absolutely agree with those who say the LD were able to be cosy idealists for so long because they never really thought they'd hvae to really do it. Even if they were fully in power I suspect they would have found they would have had to revise their plans / ideas / promises in the light of the ongoing financial situation. I would much rather they do what is necessary to keep us afloat than do the popular thing. tuition fees are inevitable - we were lucky it was "free" for as long as it was (and it wasn't free, everyone else paid for it - nothing is actually free). There are loads of people on MN complaining that the Tory cuts are idealistic not necessary and you can't have it both ways - idealism or pragmatism?

"Soooo, are you suggesting that if Brown had put personal and party interest to one side, and held out longer; the Lib Dem negotiation team could have got a better deal with more left wing influence from the Tories - but he just prefered not to? "

anastaisia I am not sure what I am saying, but he is reputed to have realised he was being played: that all the LibDem supposed "negotiations" with Labour were not real negotiations, but attempts to get a better deal with the Conservatives by pretending to consider a coalition with Labour, and thus threw in the towel before LibDems had been able to broker the best deal for themselves. (There is a photo of him in his study looking agonised, supposedly saying to Nick Clegg that he can't hang on any more)

If that is true (and it may not be) then it may be also true that had Brown not conceded defeat when he did the LibDems might have got a better deal. BUT if they were being dishonest and stringing the Labour Party along then maybe they deserved to be shafted.

Brown was being accused of being deluded, power-crazy, hanging on to the PM job even though he had lost it, being "the squatter in Downing Street" etc etc - there was a lot of it on Mumsnet - when he was trying to do the right thing and staying in office till things were sorted out. Certainly no one would suggest that he jumped ship too early. There was a general sigh of "at last" when he did leave.

This picture apparently

You know what trixie tehre are ways of dealing with things

You say 'I am very sorry, we hadn;t banked on this and will be looking at changing back to what we promised after teh crisis'

or you say

'whine whine poor me nobody voted for me and it's all Gordon's fault anyway'

First one I;d probably think sod off, second- whiney annoying tat, in fact he ahs now earned the name of Nick Tinnitus in our house.