Webchat with Nick Clegg - Tuesday 9 May at midday

[BojanaMumsnet]

Hello,

We’re pleased to announce a webchat with Nick Clegg on Tuesday 9 May at midday.

Nick is currently campaigning to keep his seat in Sheffield Hallam, where he has been the MP since 2005. He was leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007-2015, and Deputy Prime Minister in the coalition government from 2010-2015, overseeing the introduction of shared parental leave, the pupil premium for disadvantaged children, and equal marriage - as well as increasing student fees. He’s also been on the losing side of two referendums, campaigning to introduce the Alternative Vote system, and to Remain in the EU.

Last week saw the publication of the paperback version of his book Politics: Between the Extremes, in which Nick lays out his assessment of the British political landscape - ‘nationalism resurgent, mainstream parties in turmoil, stark new divisions and the centre ground deserted’ - and offers his prescription for ‘a new politics based on reason and compromise’.

Please do join us on the day - Tuesday 9 May at midday - or if you can’t make it, post a question in advance on this thread.

Please remember our webchat guidelines: one question each, with a follow-up to the webchat guest's response if appropriate; please don't keep posting 'what about me/please answer my question'; and please be civil/polite.

(As we approach the General Election we will endeavour to offer you a balanced diet of webchats with politicians from different parties - as ever, slightly constrained by their availability! Keep your eyes peeled for more announcements.)

Thanks
MNHQ

Hi Nick,

I'm a (former) life long Conservative voter who will be proudly voting Lib Dem for the first time in GE2017. Lots of reasons.

What changes would the LDP propose to either validate or hold campaign groups and political parties accountable to their claims and promises to ensure as a country we make our choices based on truth, fact and information... not lies, bribes and misinformation? I'm referring to the well documented falsehoods of the Leave campaign and current trend of the Conservative party to block any and all scrutiny of their lack of policies.

if things continue the way they are it signals the end of democracy.

Thank you and all the best for the election,

FBJ

@AccioMerlot

I'm canvassing in one of our target seats, and tuition fees still comes up - not that often actually, but it still does.

I'm going with the approach that it's not us they're punishing, it's the whole country, by giving the green light to 5 more years of Tory cuts and a hard Brexit.

Have you got anything better? Remember it has to be short enough to fit in that gap before they slam the door

In politics, as in life, you sometimes can't do everything that you want. We had to make compromises in coalition and there was very little money and so we did our very best in those difficult circumstances.

Some people are just not prepared to listen - or accept that government involves difficult choices - but my experience is many reasonable people are.

@HatHen

Hi,

I have your book which I am looking forward to reading when I go on holiday in a few weeks time.

My question is: Have you considered the Lib Dems and Labour forming a coalition for this general election for the greater good, so the Tories would loose the election? Surely this is the time to unite for the greater good, and put the smaller differences aside? If you could make it work with the Tories, I can't see why you can't with Labour?

Secondly, many blame you and your party for the mess we are in now, as if you had chosen Labour over Tories to form a coalition with, we wouldn't be in this mess? Do you take any responsibility, and isn't it time to put things right?

I hope you enjoy the book - if you manage to read it, you'll find that I explain the reasons we went into coalition with the Conservatives, and why there was never any possibility of a Lib Dem-Labour coalition. The numbers simply didn't add up, we wouldn't remotely have had sufficient number of MPs together to govern. So the question was not a choice about one coalition or another, it was simply a question of whether we should form the only viable government at the time or consign the country at a moment of great economic peril to months of political uncertainty and yet another general election within months.

Crucially, decriminalizing sex work does not mean that we would change the law as far as coercion, abuse and exploitation is concerned.

Crucially, when trafficking becomes increasingly "hidden" behind shiny legal facades, it simply disappears to law enforcers - this is what is happening in Germany.

So it's down to people not being prepared to listen that you justify your decision on tuition fees?

@Istoletherainbow

Hi Nick,

Who would be at your fantasy dinner party? Dead or alive.

Prince
Vaclav Havel
Cate Blanchett
Angela Merkel
J M Coetzee
Miriam and my kids, obvs

And everybody who doesn't accept that you were put in a difficult position is unreasonable?

@Wellysocksbox

Snog / Marry / Avoid:

Theresa May / Jeremy Corbyn / Angela Merkel

No snogging or marrying - I reckon Miriam would be on the phone before this webchat is over - and I'd dearly like to avoid both Corbyn and May if I could. Boring but what else can I say (but I know who I'd push off a cliff? )

No Strictly? Boo. Teenagers schmeenagers Nick. It's your job to embarrass them.

Btw I think you may be wrong about the resignation of the 48% to the Brexit referendum result, and I think there is an army ready to stand up again. But hey ho. It's sadly not going to happen under this (and clearly the next) govt, so I agree we need to be pragmatic at least about what terms we can hope for.

@muckypup73

Nick you probably wil not see this, but what do you think of Jeremy Corbyn?

He seems a perfectly ok bloke on a personal level - and I admire the way he seems to remain civil despite all the abuse he gets (I know whereof I speak...) - but I'm afraid I think his politics of left-wing nostalgia and his hopeless attempt to ignore the disaster of Brexit altogether just is not right for our country at this time.

Yep agree Bialy - ready and waiting.

Thanks very much for the questions, sorry I couldn't answer more, maybe another time after June 8th!

If not strictly then the jungle perhaps?

I appreciate the advice to read your book and I will add it to my list (currently reading Hillary Clinton's). However, I don't feel you answered my question. Perhaps I was unclear so I'll try again.

The EU referendum had two distinct sides: Yes or No. It represents the epitome of a polarised debate and electorate. How do you propose to bridge the gap and bring the electorate and the country together when you have positioned yourself on one side of the debate?
(You're by no means the only politician to have done so but I'm interested in whether anyone is actually interested in trying to stop the polarisation rather than continuing it to try to gain political capital.)

I really like you Nick, but then I'm a Tory!
I think you set aside self interest and made a tough decision to go into coalition. I get fed up with those that criticise you for it. Thank you

Thanks Nick.

The book's been plugged Winnie so he's gone.

Hi Nick

The over 50s voted overwhelmingly in favour of Brexit whilst the under 50s are firmly opposed to it, yet the burden of costs and effects of the vote are likely to be shouldered by the working population through tax increases as well as indirect effects such as rising interest payments on loans and mortgages, wage stagnation, inflation and job uncertainty.

How would you ensure that the costs of Brexit are split more evenly across the population? Specifically, will you introduce means testing of universal pernsioner benefits and in time either scrap the triple lock or else means test the state pension for the richest pensioners, many of whom who in addition to having generous private pensions, have made several hundred per cent equity gains on property and are seeing diversified pension and investment portfolios surging on the back of the weak pound?

It's daft to think the Lib Dems had any choice. They were the minor party in a coalition - what choice did they have?

Well, I agree with you there (see my Q upthread).

I just mean that it's very common to set against a party for a single policy - Conservatives closing mines, Labour promising not to introduce top up fees and claiming that tuition fees weren't top up fees, etc - regardless of the current policies and situation.

It's a shame we vote on party names (and therefore history) rather than having some anonymised policy list.

cowgirls, the 'reasonable people' was in response to my Q about doorstep conversations. Believe it or not, not everyone is reasonable when talking to canvassers.

"government involves difficult choices"

This is such an annoying response, and I keep hearing it from Lib Dems. It feels so back-patting and self-congratulatory about how it's sooo tough to make these painful decisions.

I understand that it was a difficult choice, one has to make compromises, there was barely any money, etc etc. But don't stab me in the back and expect me to forgive you because it was just such a difficult choice.

Thanks for not answering my question - proves my point - pathetic.

Fair play to Nick - I think he handled that pretty well. Didn't just pick the easy questions to answer.

'government involves difficult choices' - it's such a patronising answer as though there weren't any discussions within the LibDem party at the time about how they were managing the coalition. Vince Cable and other experienced politicians suggested being much more circumspect. The problem with Clegg's meteoric rise was that he lacked the political nous to manage a coalition and didn't listen to the advice from the more experienced members of his team.