The reformist case for Clegg
James Forsyth 1:21pm
One ally of the deputy Prime Minister suggested to me yesterday that the press was
missing the most significant aspect of Clegg’s speech on education: Clegg acknowledging that free schools would now be a permanent part of the educational landscape. This ally argued that
this was a big deal given that a year ago Lib Dem conference had voted to boycott these schools.
The Lib Dem leader is considerably more liberal than his party. This means that he sometimes needs, so the argument goes, to sweeten the reformist pill with some Lib Dem rhetoric. Hence the emphasis on free schools being fair schools in yesterday’s speech.
But this internal Lib Dem party management is frustrating for Conservative ministers. They complain that it often leads to concessions which undermine the effectiveness of a whole policy.
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Andy Carpark
September 6th, 2011 1:29pm Report this commentBrian Blessed is a hairy man. But IDS is a noisy man.
Publius
September 6th, 2011 1:38pm Report this comment"The Lib Dem leader is considerably more liberal than his party. This means that he sometimes needs, so the argument goes, to sweeten the reformist pill with some Lib Dem rhetoric. Hence the emphasis on free schools being fair schools in yesterday’s speech."
Oh, please! Is not Clegg the man who promised to be honest with the voters?
Instead his spinners are spinning to you, Mr Forsyth, who is now spinning to us.
Austin Barry
September 6th, 2011 1:42pm Report this comment"They complain that it often leads to concessions which undermine the effectiveness of a whole policy."
That's an almost perfect definition of a 'coalition'. The apposite synonym would be 'eunuch'.
MilkSnatcher
September 6th, 2011 2:21pm Report this commentSo Nick Clegg is either dissembling to his own party or genuinely opposing free schools - or both. Hasn't he been found out a few times before like this?
William Blakes Ghost
September 6th, 2011 2:27pm Report this commentIndeed the Libdems seem to be a roadblock to doing anything becoming the epitome of the establishment maintaining the status quo.
Of course all the time the country is sliding into an economic morass but hey what do we care as long as the weirdie beardies and sandal slappers convention are happy......
Salopian
September 6th, 2011 2:28pm Report this commentOne of the less endearting (actually very few) characteristics of some coffee housers is their apparent lack of any sort of empathy.
So c'm on guys hands up those who'd be happy to be in Clegger's shoes. He's got Granny Williams and Grandad Campbell with their collective amnesia that
1 the LibDems have got into power with fewer seats than they had in the previous Parliament
2 if the coalition fails then the LibDems will be ysterday's party for a political generation
And then there are the aparatchiks with ambitions to take over from Clegg but with absolutely no idea what they'd to - would any one of them want to be Deputy PM? Would the Tories let Big Dave give it to them?.
Clegg, Alexander, (Laws in the background) and one to others have got more then any of the above or Kennedy could have ever imagined.
Clegg's couldn't have got more and could have got a whole let less and still felt satisfied.
So good'on\'yer Cleggers lad. Don't let the dynasaurs (or some ot the Coffeehousrs) get you down
Frank P
September 6th, 2011 2:42pm Report this commentTHe question that needs to be answered is : "Is five years of no government (aka The Coalition), better than what would have been another five years of Barmy Bruin's bluster. On balance, the former, I suppose. But it's a damn close run thing.
disenfranchised
September 6th, 2011 4:06pm Report this commentsupposing that more of "barmy bruin's bluster" would be slightly less preferable than what we have under this coalition is even more barmy than barmy bruin. barmy in the extreme.
no matter what we have now - and my god, it's bad enough - nothing could ever be as bad as the total nightmare barmy would undoubtedly have got us into by now.....
Nicholas
September 6th, 2011 8:52pm Report this commentTrouble is Frank that the current cock-up government + the leftist undertow almost guarantees another Labour government, whatever they call themselves this time, finishing the job of turning us into East Germany circa 1960.
As for Salopian, words almost fail me. Empathy? For this opportunistic fake? Christ, no wonder this country is so buggered up.
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