No one has actually seen it, but a secret parody music video filmed by the Liberal Democrats in March of last year has still caused full-body cringing up and down the country.
The Times reported this morning that in the run-up to last year’s general election, the Lib Dems filmed a remake of Carly Rae Jepsen’s video for “I Really Like You”, with Nick Clegg replacing Tom Hanks in the starring role.
Videos have emerged online showing Clegg high-fiving passers-by, waving at a passing yellow Mini, and taking selfies with members of the public.
But someone who worked on the set of the already infamous video tells me that the video was “not quite shot-for-shot, but a decent attempt”, incorporating many of the key moments of the original video, including “a shot of Nick Clegg walking past three women swiping right on his Tinder profile.”
Taking place on Thursday 19 March 2015, filming clashed with Danny Alexander’s alternative budget: “I believe [Clegg] missed the budget in the Commons to be there.”
Aside from the Tinder shot, moments which haven’t yet surfaced include Nick Clegg signing a tennis table bat and hitting a Ping-Pong ball, waving at a passing yellow Mini, and being interviewed by a roving reporter.
Were there any political messages hidden in the remake? “The dancers were all from Lib Dem HQ and wearing yellow Lib Dem T-shirts, but there were no other political nods as far as I recall, and the lyrics were the original. I think the extras were a mixture of local party activists and production assistants from the production company.”
So, um, what exactly were they trying to communicate? “Total unelectability? It was presumably an attempt to capture the youth vote, but I was baffled why they thought it was a good idea.”
Despite his decision not to release the video, at the time, Clegg was reportedly very keen on the production, animatedly dancing and lip syncing throughout. “He seemed very enthusiastic about his role and really got into it. I’m sure he’s regretted it since – but he was very cheery on set despite the cold.”
Commenting on widespread reports that the Lib Dems spent £7,800 on the shoot, my source said that the production was “definitely done on a tight budget”. They added: “It was one afternoon of shooting in a location where [the party] were already shooting their PPB all week. £8,000 for a production of that scale is definitely not something I’d consider big budget.”
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