How big a price will Clegg have paid for his seat at the top table?

“This seems to have spectacularily backfired and is hardly surprising.”

Not sure I agree. Polls at the start of the year showed that AV could win. Both Yes and No campaigns have been execrable, but the No’s was effective.

I suspect the voters most angry about “broken promises” are the natural socialists that switched from Labour to LibDem at the last General Election. [whereas I’m a natural Liberal]

If I was Clegg, I would consider resigning my position as deputy given the apparent failure of the electoral reform, except that he would replaced with another Tory!

Hands up if you think the LibDems should break the coalition in the next 6 months?

Junkyard – Member

Is breaking your promises something you encourage in people or just in politicians?

I don’t think he has broken his promises but merely not in a stronger position to negotiate for the policy he wants. Besides, the country is in deep shite so he gambled but I doubt he is so naive in breaking promises.

Dont think anyone has said that but they should not give the tories the votes to do enable them to do the exact opposite of what the Lib Dems said they would do. Compromise or selling out …looks like the public have concluded the later and it will be very difficult fo rthme to win back trust IMHO

Too idealistic to think LDs should have more says in a coalition govt and I bet he has argued for LDs policies within the coalition govt but simply could not get pass the stronger Tories. Therefore, punishing LDs is the wrong thing to do.

It also leaves them very weak in the coalition as they have no mandate for anything after that result and they dod not even get AV – now the electorate has finished kicking Clegg his own party and dave will take over

People expect too much from LDs just because they are part of a coalition govt. LDs voters need to bear in mind they are just making up the numbers that’s all to form a govt and to stabilise the economy. In a way they have scarified (gambled) themselves in the hope to establish their future credibility but they have underestimate those who seek free handouts …

The party they should kick is the party that promises free meals to all by borrowing and trying to get your children to pay for them. i.e. the previous govt.

🙄

Will be interesting to see the actual breakdown of the votes…

For the past year we’ve heard from the usual suspects that the coalition had no political mandate for the ‘cuts agenda’ since the majority of the population had voted in favour of “centre left” parties/policies.

Its entirely possible, that despite the movement of votes away from the Lib-Dems, they and the Conservatives combined could actually still have the approval of over 50% of the electorate – meaning that the majority had now voted in favour of the coalition and coalition policies, and by extension voted in favour of the cuts 😀

buzz-lightyear – Member

Not sure I agree. Polls at the start of the year showed that AV could win. Both Yes and No campaigns have been execrable, but the No’s was effective.

Glad that AV gets the kicking … 😆 They are trying to replace a “minority” governance with an even more severe complicated minority opportunity to argue waste of time shite governance. 😆

I suspect the voters most angry about “broken promises” are the natural socialists that switched from Labour to LibDem at the last General Election. [whereas I’m a natural Liberal]

Effectively they are the same so in reality there is no such thing as pure LDs supporters. They jump ship.

If I was Clegg, I would consider resigning my position as deputy given the apparent failure of the electoral reform, except that he would replaced with another Tory!

FFS! No another call for the “CEO” to resign. He is the fall guy … absolutely selfish to think he is responsible for current affairs. Asking him to resign is like asking him to abandon “rescue in the event of emergency”.

Hands up if you think the LibDems should break the coalition in the next 6 months?

Do that LibDems will be history. Vote Labour then you enjoy life for short term but future generations will grow up wanting handouts and sell their bodies … 😆

I don’t think he has broken his promises

WTF 😯

I bet he has argued for LDs policies within the coalition govt but simply could not get pass the stronger Tories.

so he failed to get his policies through and allows the Tories to do tory policies …who should we punish then? Without clegg a minority Tory govt could not have been this tory.

LDs voters need to bear in mind they are just making up the numbers that’s all to form a govt and to stabilise the economy.

By doing tory policies that are not the same as the ones they advocated to the people who voted for them. A non coalition Tory govt would have not been able to do cuts as severe as this assuming the Lib Dems stuck to their beliefs again

In a way they have scarified (gambled) themselves in the hope to establish their future credibility but they have underestimate those who seek free handouts

Given the capitualtion in their vote you seem to think all Lib Dem voters were living on “free handouts” Dumb argument.

The party they should kick is the party that promises free meals to all by borrowing and trying to get your children to pay for them. i.e. the previous govt.

1. they are out of power 🙄
2.Yes it is labours fault clegg did this

Stick to calling us all maggots if this is the best and most cogent argument you can put forward it is nonesense

I suspect the voters most angry about “broken promises” are the natural socialists that switched from Labour to LibDem at the last General Election.

What ‘natural socialists’ who switched from Labour to LibDem at the last election is that ?

The LibDems received about the same amount of votes in 2010 as they did in 2005 (well point nine of a percent more actually) there was no surge of extra support for the LibDems at the last general election.

In fact the Libdems did remarkably badly, considering that Labour had been in power for 13 years and the Tories weren’t seen as a credible alternative by many – hence the Tories failed to win the election.

‘Natural socialists’ were not attracted to Clegg. I for one, supported the LibDems in 1997, 2001, and 2005 (I even got off my arse and canvassed for them in ’97) but I ceased to support them as soon as Clegg became leader – it was very clear which direction he was going to take the party. I suspect that many others on the left came to the same conclusion.

As I say, there isn’t a shred of evidence of a surge of support from Labour to the LibDems in 2010
….. unless you think 0.9% is.

Just to get all of this back in perspective, has anyone noticed the remarkable similarity between Michael Gove and Archie Andrews?

Andrews

Gove

good call
Even for a tory that man is smug

I don’t think government is a battle. It’s a job. How far would I get in my job if I took a hard line on everything?

How far would I get in my job if I took a hard line on everything?

I guess it depends on what your job is………………………..are you an air traffic controller ?

How far would I get in my job if I took a hard line on everything?

No idea aren’t you a programmer ? how random and free wheeling can you be with code and the rules?
His job is to say something standfo rlection then do what he said. he has nt so much taken a hard line he has forgotten what he said ..whatever his political stance /principles or views how can you have anything other than contempt for this?
i dont get you molgrips are you a troll a sort of gentle Hora? say something to keep the debate going?

how random and free wheeling can you be with code and the rules?

Hehe.. you know most professions look quite different to outsiders, don’t they? Including politics it would seem 🙂

His job is to say something standfo rlection then do what he said

I disagree. His job is to help run the country. Being stubborn will most definitely NOT help with that. This is obvious to all involved I am sure, but they have to make the grand promises at election time even though they know full well that there’ll be negotiation, compromise, and evolution of the ideas.

I’m not trying to keep the debate going for the sake of it, I just strongly believe that George W Bush style of ‘sticking to your guns whatever the cost don’t let anyone sway from your true course’ is massively unhelpful in the political world. You have to learn, adapt, change and compromise to get anywhere.

nick clegg should learn from the election and referendum that everyone hates him now hes a sell out
he should adapt by pulling out of the coalition where hes just a pinata for unpopular torry policies
he should change the direction of his party away from its current centre right policies – as for compromise he should let someone else run the party

Glad that AV gets the kicking … They are trying to replace a “minority” governance with an even more severe complicated minority opportunity to argue waste of time shite governance

What language is this?

Hehe.. you know most professions look quite different to outsiders, don’t they? Including politics it would seem

Great answer i dont what it means and it does not confirm you job

I disagree. His job is to help run the country.

No it it is too represent the electorate who voted for him on the policie sthat he said he stood for – has he done this?

Being stubborn will most definitely NOT help with that. This is obvious to all involved I am sure, but they have to make the grand promises at election time even though they know full well that there’ll be negotiation, compromise, and evolution of the ideas.

Evolution of the idea Oh FFS dont be so daft his ideas have not evolved they are the opposite of what they were. I rather naively beleieved they should say what they stand for then deliver ..like the Tories have for example.

I’m not trying to keep the debate going for the sake of it, I just strongly believe that George W Bush style of ‘sticking to your guns whatever the cost don’t let anyone sway from your true course’ is massively unhelpful in the political world. You have to learn, adapt, change and compromise to get anywhere.

It s bit pointless dragging Bush in to this who would defend him?
I have no issue with a compromise, consenus and a variety of other things you state. However Clegg has not done this he has capitulated on his principles and abonded the platform he was elected on.
it seems pretty clear this is the majority view of his actions[given his electoral kicking] rather than a brave principled stand for the greater good of the nation.

I don’t think he has broken his promises

Not really been paying attention then? Where he went wrong wasn’t with the breaking of the promises (which became kind of inevitable), but with the not thinking things through properly when he made the promises. I can only assume he never expected the situation to turn out as it did – which in its way is more damning, given how likely a scenario it was if you thought things through properly.

Amy Williams has just been on the telly.
Without being too blunt; she gives me the savage horn.

given how likely a scenario it was if you thought things through properly.

As far as I can recall, all the opinion polls where predicting that no party would win a majority – and for a long time before the general election too.

You have to conclude that Clegg never had any intention to keep his promises, despite this video which he made :