[Closed] Nick Clegg knighthood - aka pin the tail on the donkey ?

“Reigning in the Tories” is a Lib Dem myth. Clegg was an absolute and total disaster as a Leader hence their 2015 election performance. He dscribed AV as a “grubby little compromise” then sold the Lib Dem’s soul for a referendum on it. His tuition fees U-Turn was a catastrophe. I was a Lib Demvoter and donor until he produced that performance.

A Knighthood for spectacular failure, not as bad as Osbourne mind.

Jive Leon Brittan was cleared of all allegations, every single one. The whole police handling of those fabricated and politically motivated allegations was a total disgrace.

Politicians & knighthoods? Don't make me laugh. Theyr'e all a bunch of self centred ****s & I don't trust any of them to do anything apart from line their own pockets, the lot of them.

Front line public servants deserve all the praise, & not the ****ing managers either. Staff nurses, paramedics, cops, firefighters, HMPS staff, (coastguard & mountain rescue volunteers too) Any one of those are worth more praise than & sodding MP.

jambalaya - Member
“Reigning in the Tories” is a Lib Dem myth. Clegg was an absolute and total disaster as a Leader hence their 2015 election

He’s not a Lying Pig Face ****er though is he.. 😆

I don't know where the idea comes from that the coalition would somehow have been pushing through vast amounts of cherished LibDem policies. Seems silly to give Nick Clegg a hard time for doing something that would have been impossible whoever had had his job.

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If you have any FACTS to present then please present them. If you make another rambling bollocks post about completely off-topic and unrelated people who are evidently guilty of "something" on the strength of little more than the fact that they were once photographed in the same room together, I'm going to give you a week off. It's disruptive.
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So everyone else can do conjecture and rambling bollocks, but since I do my best to deal in FACTS, then I get the short straw...

sounds fair.

Brian Crozier = Founder member of Shield Committee and 'the 61', Instrumental in Thatcher's rise to power, European Head of Le Cercle, which has several ties to child abuse networks the world over.

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Julian Lewis = Named by Crozier as the most prominent UK player in 'the 61' the international private intelligence network set up by Crozier in collaboration with other Le Cercle Members. Played key role in original cover up of North Wales Child abuse and trafficking.

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Wholly relevant given the origins of Nick Clegg's political career under Leon Brittan, who despite extensive propaganda to the contrary was never cleared of child abuse... Like Jimmy Savile, Cyril Smith and Greville Janner, he was never charged, but that's a whole different kettle of fish.

The people who have 'cleared' Leon Brittan are of the same ilk as Crozier... after all, like many journalists with ties to the intelligence agencies, Crozier was still welcomed to the fold even after Forum World Features was exposed as a CIA propaganda operation.

[url= http://insidestory.org.au/rupert-and-the-right-to-know/ ]Speaking of propaganda, Crozier was also closely associated with Rupert Murdoch, to the extent that Murdoch bailed out Crozier's publishing company, Sherwood Press[/url].

Also in the United States there was strong circumstantial, if not conclusive, evidence that he helped fund the clandestine activities of Brian Crozier, an anti-communist campaigner with connections to the British and US intelligence services. Crozier had a long history of anti-communist activism, including running a CIA-sponsored operation called Forum World Features, which syndicated right-wing articles to newspapers. [b]In his autobiography, Crozier acknowledged his financial backers, including “Rupert,” subsequently identified as Murdoch by one of Crozier’s associates. In December 1990, the Guardian reported that Crozier’s publishing business, Sherwood Press, was bailed out by News International, Murdoch’s British holding company. News took a half-stake in the business and assumed liability for its debts, then said to total £90,000.[/b]

[url= https://twitter.com/peterjukes/status/928216051749474304 ]Murdoch, like many media moguls, has been known to publish propaganda on behalf of the intelligence services[/url],

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'the link between the security services and the whip's offices in parliament'

Well, that goes some way to explaining why Special Branch intervene when VIP abuse is reported...

May also give us some background why Julian Lewis, known to have played an active role in covering up abuse in North Wales, was elevated to the Privy Council, under the supervision of Nick Clegg... who is now being knighted for his services.

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Final note for now... both Clegg and Cameron were mentored by members of the Cambridge Mafia: Clegg by Leon Brittan and Cameron by Norman Lamont (who like Crozier, was also European head of Le Cercle)

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So everyone else can do conjecture and rambling bollocks, but since I do my best to deal in FACTS, then I get the short straw...

sounds fair.

He does have a point, Cougar. Apart from yelling at jhj, it's not as if you've exactly added anything of substance to the thread yourself, is it?

"‘Sir’ Nick Clegg? A true sign of how Britain’s elite rewards failure "

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/28/knighthood-nick-clegg-george-osborne-britain-elite

There are supposedly petitions against his knighthood on the internet.

"[i]The organisers of the honours list said more time was needed to gather and judge nominations of people praised for their responses to this year’s biggest tragedies.[/i]"

New Year Honours list: Heroes of Grenfell Tower, Manchester Arena and London Bridge not included - But Conservative MPs who backed Brexit are awarded knighthoods in ‘doled out favours’
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/new-years-honours-list-grenfell-tower-fire-heroes-manchester-terror-attack-london-a8133811.html

It's hilarious that all the hand-wringing lefties who kicked out lib dems because of their "principles" in 2015 ushered in a Tory government and Brexit.

I think you'll find a decent amount of them just went back to their original affiliation after tactically voting for the Lib Dems the time before.

While it's easier to label someone as a hero or a villain or a self interested scumbag, the truth is always going to be more complicated than that.

I reckon that Nick Clegg did some things well and some things badly. He holds some views that I agree with and others with which I disagree. I also suspect that circumstances pushed him into situations from which it would have been difficult to come out unscathed.

The LibDems and the Lib/SDP Alliance before them have been calling for PR for as long as I've been aware of politics. Coalitions seem to be a fundamental part of the politics of every country that has a PR system.

When the first hung parliament in a very long time happened in the UK, especially as others have said in the economic circumstances of 2010, it would have been seen as very hypocritical for the greatest champions of PR not to attempt to help form a coalition government. I can imagine that as the results came in on election night Nick Clegg quickly worked out what was in store and realised the LibDems were in a no-win situation. They'd have to go into coalition with the Conservatives and they'd be punished heavily for it. Not doing so would have been portrayed as a betrayal of one of the party's most core principles.

That said, the LibDems were completely outplayed by the Conservatives when it came to the coalition negotiations and Nick Clegg has to take a large portion of the blame for that. They seemed to come away with one significant policy, some minor policies, the AV referendum and some vague promises for enquiries and reports into some other things they were after.

Raising the income tax allowance was probably a significant thing but they never got the credit for it.

The only good thing that came from the joke of an AV referendum was that it meant that the rules were better for future referenda, but only because it itself was handled so badly.

Attempts to reform the House of Lords died a miserable death at the hands of politics. The Tories are much better at that game than the LibDems.

Up against all that, the LibDems let the Tories get away with lots of stuff. Like I say, they were outplayed badly during the coalition negotiations. Nick Clegg did not help by taking the idea of joint cabinet responsibility too seriously. I'm sure there were many times where he fought against the extreme positions of the Conservatives, but in public the government largely presented a unified front and so the LibDems took at least as much flak as the Tories. Plus tuition fees. At the very least Clegg acknowledged the bad blood that caused far too late and really he should have got a right for LibDems to at least abstain in that vote in the coalition agreement.

Personally one thing Nick Clegg did for me is that I learned about the classical liberal/social democratic fault line that exists in the LibDems. The "wishy washy liberal" stereotype appears to be much more about the latter part of the party than the orange book liberal part of which Nick Clegg was a member. In whole I think the 2010 LibeDem voters were much more in favour of the Charlie Kennedy brand of social democratic liberalism and that is the reason so many were so surprised that Nick Clegg was so willing to do a deal with the Conservatives and seemed so comfortable in the company of people like Cameron and Osbourne.

Finally, I don't really know whether he deserves a gong or not. It may just indicate that there are people in Westminster who reckon he'd still be useful to have around there even if he isn't an MP any more. Or it could be part of the general habit that almost anyone who gets to the front bench will eventually be awarded one if they want it. In the coming years I suspect that pretty much any major politician who manages to get through their career without an expenses or sex scandal will end up with a knighthood or similar.

Stole this off twitter:

Quick reminder that today Chris Chope MP, who steered through Poll Tax, called for minimum wage to be abolished, voted against same sex marriage and the Turing pardon, and opposed domestic violence legislation was awarded a knighthood. But sure, carry on moaning about Nick Clegg.

Front line public servants deserve all the praise, & not the **** managers either. Staff nurses, paramedics, cops, firefighters

I’m sure that thought will make the additional shifts my wife covered over Christmas seem so much more bearable. You know, one of those clinical managers who is no good but who by stepping into the front-line still made sure essential, quality hands on care was provided to patients.

There are good managers and bad managers, good front-line staff and bad. But you know that already egf. You don’t have a career like yours without realising there are good apples and bad apples everywhere.

Leon Brittan, who despite extensive propaganda to the contrary was never cleared of child abuse

When were you cleared of abusing children jivehoneyjive?

Good on your Mrs Jamj, if she's a half decent manager who's 'come up through the ranks' (which she must have by the roll she did, as you say) then she deserves more praise than ANY politician. In HMPS & in my experience there are lots more crap managers than uniformed staff but the crap managers always seem to get to get sidestepped into a non front line roll & get a bloody pay rise even after theyv'e left somewhere in turmoil!

Plus, I just hate politicians, can't be trusted IMO.

this off twitter:

Quick reminder that today Chris Chope MP, who steered through Poll Tax, called for minimum wage to be abolished, voted against same sex marriage and the Turing pardon, and opposed domestic violence legislation was awarded a knighthood. But sure, carry on moaning about Nick Clegg.

Are you incapable of holding two thoughts at the same time?

I think the point here is Nick Clegg is shot down for trying to make the best of a situation and go forwards while the other guy is a total arse hole and is getting away with a free ride.

Clegg's motivations are open to debate but that's not really the point. The point is that we expect the Tories to be arseholes, which is why so many were disappointed when the Dems turned out to be little different.

This:

Nothing like getting a knighthood for just doing the job you are paid for ....
Can we all have one?

I think the NY Honours list is a joke, I’ve seen people I’ve worked getting honours for turning up to work. Pop stars/Meeja darlings who aren’t doing their tours for the love of the country or any altruistic purpose. And quite frankly an MP, whose job it is actually to work for the country...... I guess it makes others look good for nominating them-all self back patting.

crap managers always seem to get to get sidestepped into a non front line roll & get a bloody pay rise even after theyv'e left somewhere in turmoil!

That happens everywhere...

The plot thickens...

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So is Sir Nick a Charley Chester or not

Nick Clegg appointed as Facebook's head of global affairs and communications in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

To be expected I suppose...

Nick Clegg in Ex-Senior Cabinet Minister joins the Board of a Large Multi-National shocker.

Completely expected.

Clegg was always a tory and this is a particularly tory move.  disguising it as something good when its all about the money and power for him

disguising it as something good when its all about the money and power for him

And your evidence for this is?

I think he was one of the more principled* and rational politicians and who knows, he might be able to influence FB for the better in a small way (given MZ has nearly all the share voting rights).

* and yes I am well aware of the graduate loan thing but more importantly aware that politics is 99% compromise.

His entry into coalition was all about money and power  and this is his payoff.

Never a principled politician.  would do anything for a sniff of a ministerial limo.

An utter shit and a hypocrit

would do anything for a sniff of a ministerial limo.

How many wouldn't?

The lib dems USP was they were principled.  He sold his principles for a sniff of a ministerial car and caused so much damage to the country as a result.  I despise the man.  Hypocrisy is the worst of sins in a politician

I wondered who would be put to start the bashing. Good on him clearly an intelligent and clever guy. Probably understood more about politics than most in here and set about to try and move the country forward in a good way.

Good on him clearly an intelligent and clever guy. Probably understood more about politics than most in here

Understatement of the year...

I dunno, my sense of him is that he was one of the good guys and probably did a lot to temper Cameron’s Tory government. I’m a bit sad he’s given up on UK politics, just when we need a credible centre left opposition.

Just remember he chose tory over labour.

Just remember he chose tory over labour

You know what I said about understanding politics...

He had a choice to make, Labour were finished after years in power people did not back them but gave enough votes to those not in power, they were still tainted by Blair and the brown Blair factions were still at war. Its not a simple binary choice and certainly the UK should look more carefully about proper coalition government and how it can work.

What shows most here is the one and only chance people gave the lib dems which then gives them a clear conscience to vote for one of 2 parties who have lied, broken most promises on more occasions than any other.

There was no choice to go with labour.  the arithmetic did not work.  What he should have done is a supply and confidence deal so he could have wielded veto power as the DUP have shown.  As it was he allowed the tories to make him a patsy and allowed them to get away with whatever they want.  Its a complete myth he stopped the tories worst excesses.  He actually enabled them by his spinelessness.

I actually believe he is a tory thru and thru and did what he did to get the lucrative contracts as he has done now.  If he really had principles and cared about the UK then he wouldn't have run away from politics to buysi8ness as soon as he had a big enough name to get the luctractive contracts.

I used to vote lib dem.  I will never again until they face up to the awful legacy their spineless support of the tories left the country.

I actually believe he is a tory thru and thru and did what he did to get the lucrative contracts as he has done now.

I'm sure he values your opinion,

If he really had principles and cared about the UK then he wouldn’t have run away from politics to buysi8ness as soon as he had a big enough name to get the luctractive contracts.

Up until now what big business has he worked in?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Clegg#Career_after_Parliament

Radio Show and podcasts since he lost his seat? After the 2015 election he stayed in politics and would probably still be there if May had not have gambled. So I have to say TJ it appears you are letting your anger and hate get the better of you and ignoring the facts.

Maybe you just want to be on his podcast.

https://audioboom.com/channel/nickclegg

I used to vote lib dem.  I will never again until they face up to the awful legacy their spineless support of the tories left the country.

So instead who do you vote for?

The LIbDems must be watching the DUP hold the Tory feet to the fire and think 'shit...we could screwed them for soooooo much more'.

Mike - immediately after he lost his seat he was touting for speaking appointments at £20 000 a pop.

Its all about the revolving door of tories to business.  You do a company a favour when in government and then once you leave parliament they pay you.

Clegg went straight on that gravy train

Of copurse if they had been in a confidence and supply arrangement they could have done a loot more than they did.  Seduced by proximity to power.

Who do I vote for - varies.  Greens usually as I have green representation at all levels bar westminster

Mike – immediately after he lost his seat he was touting for speaking appointments at £20 000 a pop.

Which was 2 years after the election defeat, if he had retained his seat do you think he would still be in parliament? What should he have done after losing his seat?

Also how many of those speaking gigs did he get?

Its all about the revolving door of tories to business.  You do a company a favour when in government and then once you leave parliament they pay you.

Who did he do a favour to? Who has paid him back then? Or is this all unsubstantiated guess work again?

Of copurse if they had been in a confidence and supply arrangement they could have done a loot more than they did.  Seduced by proximity to power.

In your opinion....could have easily resulted in a fall of the government and then idiots blaming everything on them and voting for the idiots who got is all into the shit in the first place.

Errmm  did the government he was a party of decide not to include facebook in the oversight of the press?  IE thats the favour he did them to be rewarded with the salary for nothing

the man is a bigot, a money grubber and has no principles as he has proved.  typical tory

 IE thats the favour he did them to be rewarded with the salary for nothing

Well if that is the world you live in....what did the other MP's get

Lots mike - do you not follow politics and watch the links?  former tory ministers almost always take lucrative non jobs for companies they had previously  been in charge of policing.  Especially in defence industries

Or their spouses do.  thats also common.  Often at the same time so health ministers go to work for private health, defence for guns makers

Its totally obvious that Clegg is being used as a fig leaf here, its completely obvious he will do nothing, he is too smart not to realise this.
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I do follow stuff TJ, I am fairly cynical but I have to say you have it in for Clegg, he could be doing anything and you would still get stuck into him.Your obsession with an apology is well an obsession it's amazing what the other parties can be forgiven for but not the LIb Dems.

And yes it's common for people who have held posts to get jobs in that industry

For instance former Labour MP lands job at Sellafield as head of Development and Community Relations

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Reed

Basically the exposure you get in that position and the connections you have make you a good person to have on board for navigating that sector, especially if you were part of a long term strategy.

It makes good sens to hire them for their skills.

<div class="bbp-reply-author">tjagain
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Hatter – all small stuff. Nothing to compare with enabling a destructive right wing government

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You mean like Corbyn, waving through all of Mays brexit shite. Labour are currently in a bigger and more ****ed uo coalition with the Tories than anything Clegg ever did. The shittest opposition in history.

Its nothing to do with hiring for their skills - its political payback and contacts.

The reason I dislike clegg so much is he single-handedly destroyed the liberal democrats, gave us 5 years of a hard right tory party that did huge damage to the country  He refuses to apologise or admit is was a mistake and still is utterly unrepentant about what he did.  He is using his position as a former minster to make money by being a figleaf for Facebook

He is also a homophobic bigot which I cannot stand

Going to need some evidence there, a quick search here shows he supports gay rights

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/liberaldemocrats/6977759/Nick-Clegg-Faith-schools-should-be-forced-to-tackle-homophobia.html

Is there something you are referring to that is not coming up

His statements publicly over a long period of time and his voting record.  Both show him to be a homophobic bigot

complete refusal to say if he still considered homosexuality a sin which was his position a while back.  Refused to say homosexuality and homosexual sex was Ok - he couldn't because it goes against his fundamentalist beliefs - and his belief in Homosexuality as a sin was a position he stated publicly before he became leader.

Anti abortion as well.  voted continually agaisnt abortion ( as he did against such things as gay marriage) then during the critical votte was absent.

He actually stated after his resignation as leader that a part of the reason was this.  He could not reconcile his fundamentalist Christian views with party policy - homosexuality and abortion are the two main issues he could not support.