"Nick Clegg Defiant After Elections Disaster"

[dutchman]

Nick Clegg has given an emotional interview in which he insisted it had not crossed his mind to resign after devastating local and European election results.



The Liberal Democrat leader said the results in which his party lost over 300 councillors and all but one of its 11 MEPs was "gutting, heartbreaking" and a "huge setback".

But he argued he was not going to wash his hands and walk away just because the "going gets really tough".

He said: "At the point when our big decisions, our big judgments are being vindicated, we are not going to buckle.

"We are not going to lose our nerve. And we are not going to walk away."

Mr Clegg, who looked exhausted during the interview, said: "It didn't work but it was right that we stood up for the values we believe in.

"I'm immensely proud to lead the most united, resilient and toughest party in British politics.

"We made a big commitment to the British people in 2010 to step up to the plate, to form a government, to reform and repair the damaged British economy and to deliver policy after policy after policy that the Liberal Democrats have been campaigning on for generations.

"That is what we must continue to do. We must finish the job."

He said it was right to ask searching questions in the "wake of such a bad set of election results".

But the right response was to repeatedly argue that the Lib Dems were the only party that would both tackle the economic situation but do it in a fair way.

Responding to the accusation he has a bunker mentality, he replied: "No, not at all", adding: "I'm never going to put myself ahead of the Liberal Democrats."

[rebbonk]

Clegg, is, was and always will be, a fool! The imbecile has set the LibDems back 20 years because of his ego and of his selling out for 20 pieces of silver.

He's had his 15 minutes of fame, I wish he'd have the good grace to resign and leave politics for good.

This sums him up...

[rebbonk]

How do you make an Eton mess?

Spoiler:

Put Nick Clegg in charge of the Lib Dems.

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Liberal Democrats in turmoil over Nick Clegg leadership



LIBERAL Democrats were in ferment last night after Vince Cable was forced to condemn a leading party member over a leaked poll suggesting Nick Clegg will lose his seat in Parliament.

Business Secretary Mr Cable distanced himself from Lord Oakeshott, a critic of party leader Mr Clegg. The peer is suspected of ordering the poll.

The poll, leaked to a news­paper, suggested Mr Clegg could lose his Sheffield Hallam constituency at next year’s general election if he did not step down in an attempt to stem electoral meltdown.

Mr Clegg has come under acute pressure after dire local and European election results but yesterday he insisted he wanted to “finish the job”.

Mr Cable said: “Lord Oakeshott’s actions are totally inexcusable and unacceptable.

“I have made it clear that he does not speak or act for me.

“Commissioning and publishing polls without the consent of the member of Parliament...is utterly ­reprehensible.

“There are undoubtedly raw feelings in the wake of poor local and European election results. We need to respond in a measured way. Public speculation about the leadership is an unwelcome distraction and as I made clear yesterday there is no leadership issue.”

Lib Dem sources questioned some elements of the methodology used by ICM, pointing out that results from last week’s elections indicated the Lib Dems would have won the Parliamentary seat by a clear margin.

A new poll yesterday showed almost two- thirds of undecided swing voters are moving away from voting Lib Dem.

The poll, by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft, puts Mr Clegg’s party in fourth place on just eight per cent.

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Mr Cable said: “Lord Oakeshott’s actions are totally inexcusable and unacceptable.

Cable's fooling nobody! But he's not up to the job!

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Lord Oakeshott quits Lib Dems and says Clegg should go



Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott resigns from the party "with a heavy heart", saying "it is heading for disaster if it keeps Nick Clegg".

Pulling no punches, the peer - who has been a member since the party's inception in 1981 - said in his resignation statement that under Nick Clegg the Lib Dems have become a party with "no roots, no principles and no values."

Matthew Oakeshott's resignation came after he was told he would be facing disciplinary action for leaking a poll suggesting that Nick Clegg could lose his Commons seat in the election.

Mr Clegg described Lord Oakeshott's actions as "totally unacceptable" and, more damagingly, his close friend the Business Secretary Vince Cable also joined the criticism, describing Lord Oakeshott's behaviour as "inexcusable and unacceptable," adding: "I have made it very clear repeatedly that he does not speak or act for me."

Lord Oakeshott was believed to be angling for Mr Cable to take over as Lib Dem leader, a rumour Mr Cable moved to quash, saying: "I [have] made it absolutely clear there is no leadership issue as far as I'm concerned."

Reacting to the ICM poll suggesting that Mr Clegg would lose his Sheffield Hallam seat in the next general election, the Lib Dems initially said they "had no idea where it came from, but it had clearly been comissioned and leaked for political purposes".

When it became apparent that Lord Oakeshott had paid for ICM to carry out polling in five Lib Dem constituencies, he was roundly condemned by senior party figures. Former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell said he should "examine his conscience", adding: "Attempted destabilisation like this amounts to serious disloyalty."

However, in his resignation statement, Lord Oakeshott makes it clear that Vince Cable knew about the polling weeks ago.

According to Lord Oakeshott, Mr Cable removed a question about whether voters would be more likely to vote Lib Dem if the party had a different leader in the first poll carried out in the business secretary's Twickenham constituency.

But Lord Oakeshott says "that poll worried me so much that I commissioned four more in different types of consituency all over the country and added back the change of leadership question."

He concludes: "The combined message of these five professional and reputable ICM constituency polls, Nick Clegg's dire approval ratings year after year in all national polls, and Thursday's appalling council and European election results is crystal clear: we must change the leader to give Liberal Democrat MPs their best chance to win in 2015."

He revealed that he had commissioned a further ICM poll in Danny Alexander's constituency of Inverness, Nairn Badenoch and Strathspey, the results of which will be on the ICM website on Thursday.

[rebbonk]

Clegg is living on borrowed time. The stupid little boy has set them back 20 years because of his ego and poor leadership.

Sadly, I'm not sure that the LibDems will recover from this, I watch with interest to see just what the party morphs into.

[dutchman]

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