The right wing tabloids appear to have gone into overdrive criticising Nick Clegg.

http://www.express.co.uk/home
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/

Legitimate criticism or smear campaign based on fear of the sudden surge in support? For once I find myself agreeing with Peter Mandelson.

Vince cable got a bit of a bashing as well for "flip flopping on key issues".

The LD's appear to have some rather fanciful thinking on energy supply and defence. They have a "no nuclear" for energy but don't have any workable plans for how to assure base load on the national grid as the country reaches brown out level in the next 7-8 years.

They have also stated that they will seek a cheaper "next generation" replacement for Trident but don't currently have any real plans or costs – despite the upgrade to Trident being selected after a very complex review process that determined it would be by far the cheapest option (£90B over a 40 year service life).

We also probably shouldn't forget that at the last election the LDs were advocating raising taxes – amongst these was Vince Cable who told us all their "local income tax" (4p in the pound for all working adults in all households) would be cheaper than council tax for most households. They hadn't actually bothered to work out what that would cost most families – hardly the evidence of a "wise sage of economics" as he currently brands himself.

Cable gets a battering

"workable plans for how to assure base load on the national grid as the country reaches brown out"

I don't know what that means, but isn't running the national grid National Grid's job?

this was always going to happen once the LD's started getting significant votes. Red & Blue are cacking themselves and it shows.

I don't think any "sleeze" that comes out now about the LD's will make or break the deal. The Reds and the Blues have both had/still have so many skeletons in the cupboard. People won't just forget that.

as the country reaches brown out level

Is this when we all poop ourselves as we run out of energy?

Ooooh, someone's been reading their Tory blogs this morning. To be fair, it was only to have been expected from the right wing press. I mean, it's not like they can fight back with policy, seeing as their morally and policy bereft shithead of a leader (nice skin though) has any substance. Nice to see how low they sink though. Cocks.

Oooo, lib dems to cap public sector pay rises at £400 "initially for two years" and also reform of public sector pensions. Perhaps they're worth a punt after all 🙂

dave360 – Member

"workable plans for how to assure base load on the national grid as the country reaches brown out"

I don't know what that means, but isn't running the national grid National Grid's job?

Operating the infrastructure is National Grid's job – but energy policy, where and when we build and decommission new capacity is down to government…

"brown out" is where you've got too much demand and not enough supply (ie you decided nuclear was nasty and turned them all off but didn't build reliable replacements) and have to ration electricity or shut down bits of the grid altogether… Speaking from experience of living in a country where it happens all the time this is not something you want to have to put up with…

Ohhh, a bit like the 1970's then 🙂

reminisces…..

They've not really thought this through have they? You can imagine the conversation that definately didn't take place at tory central office:

"I've had a great idea! Seeing as the public are sick to the back teeth of politicians and their nasty childish and corrupt ways. And the Lib Dems are campaigning on a sort of anti-London, anti-government, anti-big business ticket, why don't we get our chums in the press, the ones we went to Eton with, the ones who work for a non-dom who pays no tax, to give them a right good kicking!!!"

The front page of the Torygraph:

"Nick Clegg, the Libdem donors and payments into his private account."

"Nick Clegg received a series of payments from party donors directly into his private bank account, The Daily Telegraph can disclose."

Which suggest dodgy dealing in the story. On his blog, however, the deputy editor says

"And we have gone back to Mr Clegg’s un-redacted expenses file where we discovered the records of donor payments to his bank account we report today. So far he has been unable to produce an adequate explanation for them, or the paperwork to back up his justification. The likelihood must be that it is evidence of disorganisation, nothing more, but don’t know that yet."

Not letting (lack of) facts getting in the way of a good smear

lol @ binners – but that's the way their nasty little Tory minds work 😉

I agree with binners. Jane Moore in yesterday's Sun was particularly pathetic. Basically, if an idea is imaginative or different then it's self-evidently wrong. If it's a Labour idea, it's self-evidently wrong. If it's "politics as usual" then it must be shit. But anyway, vote Tory.

He's been a bit daft though whether is disorganisation or not would you want a pm to be so unorganised – not that he will make PM

Everyone knows the secret to success is to move it around in different amounts to different accounts and use your relatives accounts.

A local businessman has sent a mail shot around Malvern rubbishing the LD candidate……

Came in handy this morning when the Andrex ran out!!

part of the lib dems problem is that they dont have the financial backing of the labservatives

theyve only been targeting their limited resources to the seats that they had the best chance of winning
now that poplaropinion has shifted in their favour the wealthy backers of the labservatives are tearing them to shreds

ironically because they dont have the same money men funding them they retain some independence from the elite financial rulers who really run the country

the torry press in particular are laying it on thick because they had all been buttering upo their golden boy who was garuanteed to be the next PM a few months ago but hes turned out to be such a lame duck they are getting desperate

lets hope he sticks it to callmedave and goingdownbrown in the debate once again

Personally I reckon its such shallow and pathetic reporting that it will actually work in the Cleggsters favour. I would never underestimate the electorates ability to see through the crepe. Always amazes me.

I was that bored on night shift last night that i read the Dail Mail that was lying around: loooooads of negative stuff about both Clegg and Brown, and barely a mention, neither positive or otherwise of Cameron. How very depressing.

In fact his wife got about four more 'inches' than he did! FWIW i would feel equally duboius if the Guardian or Independent were reporting/underreporting similarly for their chosen leaderz.

I found it amusing that the daily mail managed to get the words nick clegg and nazi onto their front page headline.
If only godwins rule applied to newspapers

The idea that the Sun makes any real difference to the way the nation votes is risible. Sun readers are interested in sex and gossip about personalities, not politics.

I found it amusing that the daily mail managed to get the words nick clegg and nazi onto their front page headline. If only godwins rule applied to newspapers

That fascist rag is a newspaper? (raises eyebrows)

Andy

Sun readers are interested in sex and gossip about personalities, not politics.

I fear that that doesn't mean that they don't vote, sadly. 🙂

I can't see the problem…….the Express, the Mail, and the Sun, are all Tory newspapers
– why wouldn't they attack/smear the LibDem leader ? 😕

Given what the polls are suggesting right now, praising him or ignoring him, hardly sounds like a sensible course of action to take.

Yeah…… dogs bark and cats meow……. so what ?

I'm surprised (perhaps naively) at:

– the speed with which the right wing papers have responded to Clegg's promotion from nobody to Major Political Force;

– the viciousness of it;

– the arrogance of the apparent assumption that they can slate someone (who appears to be making an impression, if not on their readers) in such a crude way and take their readers with them;

– the willingness to be quite so frighteningly partisan.

Taken together, that lot has made me sit up a bit. But I don't really remember them gunning for Kinnock I suppose.

For some reason I read that as "Tabloid smears against Nick Craig" 😯

dont forget in tonights debate to give them a good slap whenever they pi$$ you off

http://slapometer.com/

The idea that the Sun makes any real difference to the way the nation votes is risible. Sun readers are interested in sex and gossip about personalities, not politics.

Show's how little you know about the world.

– the viciousness

– the arrogance

– the willingness to be quite so frighteningly partisan.

Since time immemorial, the tabloid right-wing press have been like that towards the Labour Party.

Even when the Sun "officially" supported Labour between '97-2009, hardly a day passed without them slagging off or smearing Labour. In fact I can't remember the Sun ever praising Labour, apart maybe over going to war. The Sun's "support" for Labour was really only restricted to telling their readers to vote Labour, Murdoch likes to back winners – he knows which side his bread's buttered.

And they have done hatchet jobs on the Liberals before – whenever they saw them as a threat to Tory ambitions. The Sun did so in May '79 when they feared some disaffected Labour voters would turn to the Liberals and rob Thatcher of a majority.

Of course the tabloid right-wing press has also built up the Liberals in the past – when they thought they posed a greater threat to Labour. Their enthusiasm for the Liberal/SDP Alliance is an example of this. And never was there a more media created party in British politics, than the SDP.

Right now, the LibDems seriously risk robbing the Tories of a parliamentary majority, of course the right-wing press are going to gun for them…….what do you expect, "fair and balanced" reporting ? Stop being so naive ffs.

It's interesting that, locally, Labour are playing the "a vote for the Lib Dems is a vote for the Tories" card. The fact that the Tory press are attacking Clegg would suggest otherwise.

Nick Craig is ace – great rider, super nice guy, true MTB legend, terrible that the tabloids have anything bad to say about him…. very sad

iDave C-, must try harder.

I once met Nick Craig in a cafe on the top of the Glandon. And he recognised me! Thoroughly nice chap. He was cycle touring and was just on his way to meet David Millar after the stage finish at the top of Alpe d'Heuz….

Vote Lib Dem!

I would thoroughly enjoy a leadership debate including Nick Craig! (add a bit of Steve Peat and that would be hilarious)

"In fact his wife got about four more 'inches' than he did"

Ooooeeer missus!

I'm disappointed that the LD's don't want to scrap Trident replacement and embrace nuclear energy. Surprisingly silly IMO.

"brown out" is where you've got too much demand and not enough supply…Speaking from experience of living in a country where it happens all the time this is not something you want to have to put up with…

If you have too much demand and not enough supply, then in a capitalist country you put the price of the good up because it shows it's priced too cheap.

Did the country you live in have price controls, by any chance?

It's interesting that, locally, Labour are playing the "a vote for the Lib Dems is a vote for the Tories" card. The fact that the Tory press are attacking Clegg would suggest otherwise.

Locally though Mike that could be the case
The swing required to turn Darlington Lib Dem is massive, they have it rated as 288th in their list
Splitting the Labour vote here will only do one thing, whether that's what you'd like to see is another matter entirely

On the energy point, so wtf have Labour and Conservative governments been doing for the last 30 years that we are facing brownouts? To me suggests they don't actually have a clue either.

We are not facing brownouts – we are facing the need to conserve energy. a decent programme of energy conservation would be cheaper and more effective than building nuclear power plants.

If you have too much demand and not enough supply, then in a capitalist country you put the price of the good up because it shows it's priced too cheap.

Really?

It's simply a matter of supply and demand is it?

How long does it take to bring new generation projects from planning to online?

What do you do when some people can't afford to pay anymore?

How do you regulate the monopoly control of the national grid?

How do the costs take into account environmental concerns?

Why do so many people here talk bllx?

i can't remember last time i read oa newspaper with any interest.. a load of skewed, self-interested or biased tosh and a waste of trees.

TJ, spot on – we all need to use less, simple reaslly.