The LibDems have been sold down the river by Clegg's about-turn on his pre-election promises. He has scuppered the party's future chances through his desperate rush to power, but the other LibDems merely add fuel to the fire through their lack of protest at Clegg's duplicity and cowardice. Where is Kennedy or Menzies, why has Cable chosen a vow of silence? If they don't speak up, one can be forgiven for thinking that these other LibDems are just as complicit in the scam that was the pre-election LibDems.
I, for one, voted for the LibDems - I was taken in by the conman lines of a better politics, of a brighter future, by the principled stand Kennedy took against the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions and colonisation, by the redeployment of funds from Trident to a fairer distribution and safety netting for the disenfranchised and vulnerable. What happens? Clegg sucks up to his buddy Cameron and barely even makes a dent in the vicious full frontal assault on the NHS, JSA and benefits, education, and jobs. He deserves to be shamed ... and blamed ... and the LibDem apologists who crop up here to support Clegg merely add more layers of deception to the already vile accumulation of betrayal and self-serving power-mongering that is the ConDem coalition whereby Tory viciousness is given a veneer of humanity by pushing Clegg into the front-line. He is a punch bag ... but he is the Tory's punch-bag, a scapegoat behind whom they hide, the Tory's useful idiot. And yet here he is now crying the blues and polling for public sympathy off the backs of his own kids' wondering why his father is so vehemently disliked, untrusted and derided.
Clegg - for once in your spoilt life, grow some, pull the plug on the coalition and do something that your kids may be proud of you for: blow the whistle on this Tory programme of social eugenics.

So, stonewalling on those News International dinners -"not my problem"
Attacking the Opposition - "its Eds problem" - for carrying out Opposition.
"I'm a bit glum"
Well, it was deffo worth it, getting Jemima to edit NS for this surprising and insightful article wasn't it?
http://clemthegem.wordpress.com

" "Why are the students angry with you, Papa?"

Here you go Nick:

Because i'm a self serving political opportunist of the highest order, telling students what they wanted to hear to grab their votes - then used that support to stab them in the back.
Because I ran for office in the general election as a Lib Dem but now I enforce and enable Tory Ideology.

It comes to something when the hate reaches his young family. I'm a Lib Dem and fully support Nick and the coalition. Yes we've had some things that could have been handled better, but I don't think there is anyone working harder than Nick.

He does not deserve most of the flack he gets. Anyone would think he was PM rather than Cameron, and I don't see Cameron being a man and stepping forward to take any flack.

Nick is working hard behind the scenes - how on earth do people think the NHS proposals are now on hold?? And he's doing it for us!

I know there'll be some vitriol thrown back at me for this comment - but I just wish people would remember that Nick is a human being and has feelings and his children shouldn't be asking questions like that.

This has to stop, especially now it is starting to harm his family! Give him a break!!!

Now I'll brace myself for those spouting pathetic vitriol...

Sorry, Jamie, but as Libdem I can firmly state that Clegg has been a disaster as leader. Many other party members feel the same, but are reluctant to come out and say so; however, the May elections could well bring about a Bonfire of the Councillors, and if that happens be prepared for some discourteous language from the party grassroots.

After all, why should the ship go down with the captain?

Hahahaha....You almost had me believing you there Jamie!!!

Well... I tried. I'm not saying the entire party is behing him - clearly it's not - but there are those who support the decision to form the coalition and believe that it would have been irresponsible not to. And while I agree with Nick, I also think that it's a healthy thing that many Lib Dems don't. The worse thing would be to lose our identity as a party.

Jamie
You should perhaps consider the Lib Dems the only progressive party in British politics who actually want to get the country to a better place.
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I once thought you could be. Not anymore.

Mark Serwotka for PM!

I third that, whilst cancelling my NS subscription - Jemima Khan - sheesh, gimme a break.

I'm a Nick Clegg supporting Lib Dem too. From what I see, he works incredibly long hours to implement as much Lib Dem policy as possible, working in collaboration with Cameron.

I don't know why people are suprised that he's just a normal human being who cares about his family and about his work.

But despite this drip, drip of bad news, our local membership of the Lib Dems is up and we're standing more candidates than ever in the upcoming elections.

"You should perhaps consider the Lib Dems the only progressive party in British politics who actually want to get the country to a better place.

------------

I once thought you could be. Not anymore."

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Why? Because election night left them with just 8% of the seats in parliament, yet the responsibility to make sure some kind of government was formed out of what the electorate had decided? Because they saw that leaving a minority Tory government to call another election in 6 months time and gain a majority would have been a disaster for the country's poorest, and decided to form the only government that was left possible given the parliamentary arithmatic and poor support from labour for a rainbow coalition (which may also have been too unstable to survive the decisions needed to do anything with the deficit, even the halving of it in 4 years Labour currently says it would do).

The question is not why are they supporting a Tory government, but how have they managed to take as much of the sting out of it as they have with the tiny amount of MP's WE gave them on election night.

If people wanted Lib Dem policies they should have voted for them. They didn't vote for the Lib dems, and we now don't have Lib Dem policies. There's no point crying about our decisions now, just be thankful somebody is keeping a check on the bonfire of public services, and trying to put the poorest first... because it's more than we could have hoped for with the Tory's completely in charge.

Without the Lib Dems as coalition partners we would now have seen the
NHS concerns ignored, the cap on tuition fees completely removed, and no increase in the personal allowance, leaving those at the lower end of the pay scale even worse off.

There is a saying "keep your friends close and your enemies closer". It is exactly when those you trust the least are going to be in power that you want to have some kind of say in what happens.

@Jesse You need to look at the bigger picture. Do you think the Trident replacement would be on hold right now without Nick or the NHS plans being review, or the increase in income tax threshold or all the other Lib Dem policies he's got through?

Imagine the parallel universe of a sole Tory government - Trident, NHS bill pushed through with not a second thought to the public, UNcapped fees, VAT increase without an income tax threshold rise to counter the effect, no pupil premium, deeper cuts etc etc. Or under Labour who were driving us into a European bailout situation?

There's no need to vilify Nick Clegg over one policy issue - tuition fees - and whatever anyone else moans about that is the reason they hate him. It is ONE policy and it was he who fought to have fees capped - the Tories weren't going to bother until Nick and Vince insisted!

He is working so hard for US and gets no thanks whatsoever. He does not deserve to be crucified forever!

@Jack - it is ignorant people like you who fuel this vitriol against Nick. You are typical of these pathetic people who can only attack Nick and not see what the alternative looks like - an alternative much worse!

1) FACT - students will pay LESS per month than under the current system!
2) The Lib Dems tried to restrict the increase to 18% but failed. Nick has increased the income tax threshold - this would never have happened without him and it helps to counteract the VAT increase.
3) If it wasn't for Nick the NHS bill would not be on hold for two months and Nick, Dave and Andrew would not have been visiting hospitals today. The Tories on their own would have got the bill through without giving us lot a second thought!
4)Nick is clearly NOT a Tory or else he wouldn't be fighting for US on these issues.

If people like you would get your head out of the sand and concider the alternatives to the Lib Dems being there then maybe Nick's son would not have to ask such questions. If you have any concern at all for Nick's son (which I don't beleive you do) then you would stop spouting such crap!

Tracy and Alex, your "Lib Dems as wild beast tamers" arguments are very illuminating re your real opinions of your coalition partners.

You clearly regard them as utterly bestial, which, of course, they are.

Tracy - I think you miss the important point that the Conservatives could not have done anything without Lib Dem approval. Uncapped tuition fees would have been impossible regardless. I don't even think the tuition fees issue was that bad - Labour would have done the same.

The big issue at the election was how to deal with the deficit. The Lib Dems promised they would not make massive cuts this year and endanger the recovery. Labour and the Lib Dems got 52% of the vote - a mandate to make cuts once the economy was on the road to recovery.

It is impossible to like Labour and I am no advocate for them but I expected him to deliver on the main principles that he stood for before the election.

http://www.twitvid.com/ERX9W

I would have respected Nick for working closely with the Conservatives in a minority government but not forming a Coalition, which has allowed wider policies in education (free schools) and health policies (NHS reforms) to be voted through by Lib Dems.

I'd just like to second what Alex has said - THE LIB DEMS DID NOT WIN THE ELECTION. You voted for the tories and voted for a tory manifesto more than any other party, now deal with it. Surely it's only fair that the majority of Liberal Democrat policies are not implemented - no matter how much it pains me to say it as a Lib Dem myself.
Personally, I think people should stop posting dog shit through Nick Clegg's letter box and have a long hard look at the facts.

Ariana I am not sure you realise how democracy in this country works. You need a majority in Parliament to pass legislation. The Conservatives didn't get that - in either the share of the votes or in seats won.

The Liberal Democrats should have won more seats than they did (they lost out through the unfair FPTP) and got 23% of the vote. However they stood on a platform that was to the left of Labour in many ways. Lib Dem MPs do not have a mandate to push through a right wing agenda.

A majority of the electorate voted for social democracy in various hues.

Nick has delivered rampant anti human neo-liberalism.

I am not surprised Nick has trouble with his conscience.

He has traded his party and their voters for a squalid job.

Where are you posting from Ariana? Iran? You don't seem to understand British democracy.
A party without an overall majority at Westminster cannot get the blandest, least controversial bill through Parliament: they need the support of MPs from other parties to do anything, never mind "implement their policies".

Clegg held a fairly strong hand - which he has played very badly. The LibDems could have simply refused to lend their support to a measure - like, er... trebling tuition fees ... which would have then failed to pass through Parliament.

This is not rocket science.

But never mind the maths - which are clear enough. What about the morality? What about the ideals and principles that the Liberal Democrats are supposed to believe in?

the lazy labour would never stop believing that money grows on tree. unfortunately some day they have to realise it is not so. the day can be postponed but cannot be avoided.

Martin as much as I agree with your post, the remaining Lib Dem supporters fit into the "Tory-but" category as well. That is why their support has more than halved but there are some that linger on defending their policies. They are not to be persuaded - they just don't recognise that the majority of Lib Dem voters were Social Democrats.

I agree, I think most of the party would feel more at home with Charles Kennedy. Clegg fails to recognise (or pretends not to) that the "protest lefies" (due to the Iraq war, civil liberties etc) were deliberately attracted to vote for his party through the lies he told before the election.

That is the reason for the 13, 14, 15 point decline in the polls. If only the Orange Book had been more widely publicised.

It's a fallacy that the Lib Dem's joined the Tories in government to take the sting out of them. If that's what they were truly interested in then they'd have been far more effective letting the Tories form a minority government and staying on the opposition benches.
Minority government can work and forces real compromise.
They went into coalition because those in control of the party are very close to the Tories in ideology even if alot of Lib Dem's aren't.
Alexander, Law's, Cable and Clegg and the like are lassiez faire types who don't adhere to the centre left politics that many Lib Dem's do.

If the trade descriptions act applied to Political Parties "Pledges" the LDs would not be trading. They could have gone for a Supply and confidence alternative and wielded real power and respect.
They sold their bithright for a mess of potage.