Nick Clegg

[fedsron2us]

What a tosser.

[non sociopath skin]

1. As life's too short to spend too much of it watching the LibDems "preparing for government" ...

... I'd be grateful if you'd elucidate.

The Skin

[fedsron2us]

2. Oh just the whole Neo Liberal economic agenda

he set out in his speech. Ersatz Thatcherism touted 30 year too late and just at the time that the Anglo-Saxon economic model is going up in flames. I just want to punch his lights out.

[T_i_B]

3. Yes, but has anyone noticed him?

With the markets crashing and Labour imploding the Lib Dem conference has been even more of a sideshow then usual this year.

[vinylsolution]

4. Where is Paddy Ashdown....

.... when we need him?

[mrfrapp]

5. Agree

I usually vote Lib Dem because it pisses people off but I won't be while Clegg and his giant ego is at large. Annoying Joe Public is one thing but I see no reason to reinforce Clegg's delusions of grandeur.

[fedsron2us]

6. FFS this man is so out of touch that he thinks the State Pension is £30 a week

and that Sainsburys is a down market shop. Yet he thinks he is qualified to be Prime Minister. The man is a complete idiot.

[Mr Creosote]

7. Well

the current PM is a complete idiot so maybe he has a point.

[non sociopath skin]

8. .. and the apparent future one.

The Skin

[fedsron2us]

9. Brown would at least have known the State pension

Clegg's attempt to reposition the Liberal Democrats is doomed to disaster. I expect those who like tax cuts will vote Tory. The rest like more poor old pensioner Mum, who normally vote Liberal Democrat, will just sit on their hands (you would have been shocked at the language she used to describe Clegg).


Research by the Guardian's pollsters suggests Clegg's policies wont help him to win enough marginal Labour seats to off set his losses to the Tories.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/sep/21/labourconference.polls

Ultimately, Clegg, Brown and Cameron face the same problem as they are all disciples of the Anglo-Saxon economic orthodoxy that had its origins during the Reagan and Thatcher eras. This system is currently collapsing around their ears. No mainstream UK politician seems to have grasped yet that the world is changing forever and that it is time for a new start.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

10. Interesting stuff

"The poll does hold out the possibility for Labour recovery, but it is not a scenario that will appeal to Brown. He is a huge negative for Labour among marginal voters, especially those who might switch their vote. One of the most resonant messages among the potential switchers is 'Gordon Brown is the wrong man to lead the country'. Take that away and the Conservatives could lose support to Labour. Approaching half (44 per cent) of potential Tory/Labour switchers say they would be more likely to vote Labour if Gordon Brown were replaced as Prime Minister.

That should concentrate some minds in Manchester, especially among the cabinet."

With the poll predicting a large cull of Cabinet ministers, this could mean the end of Gordon Brown before a General Election showdown.

An impending wipe-out for the Lib Dems and Labour will happen if current trends continue, though the prospect of proportional representation won't seem as offensive to the latter as it once did. If I was a Labour partisan I would certainly be taking another look at PR. Outside of foreign policy I see little to distinguish the Lib Dems from New Labour these days.

A Lib Dem-Labour tactical alliance could keep the Tories out, but like you say something needs to be done in place of the failed Anglo-American economic model. Meanwhile Sweden's economy will continue grow above 2% for the next two years according to an OECD report (http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/5/53/20213258.pdf).

[Mr Creosote]

11. "Brown would at least have known the State pension"

and would he have decided the following day that only the over-75s should get it?

[fedsron2us]

12. The old Liberal Party created the Old Age Pension in 1908

when Lloyd George was Chancellor Of The Exchequer. It was one of the greatest pieces of social reform in the 20th Century and something of which the Liberal Democrats should be proud. Instead they have as a leader a man who clearly cares so little about the subject that he does not even know its current value. This is doubly shaming as this year is the Old Age Pension's centenary. A libidinous streak is all that Clegg shares with his great fore runner. Otherwise he is not fit to lace Lloyd George's boots.

[LeftishBrit]

13. Yes, but which of the leaders isn't?

They are scarily similar, at least on economic issues.

I'll probably still vote LibDem next time, because I like my own MP, and because at least the LibDems seem less likely than either of the other two parties to drag us into more wars. But all the leaders seem to be Thatcher's illegitimate children with regard to the economy. And right now, it's clearer than ever that Thatcherism isn't what the economy needs.