Clegg weaves more divides between himself and Miliband

“He’s elevated personal abuse into a sort of strategy.” So says Nick Clegg of Ed Miliband in one of the most noteworthy snippets from his laid-back interview with the FT today. Another sign, were it needed, that Labour’s animosity towards the Lib Dem leader is mutual — if they won’t work with him, then he almost certainly won’t work with them. And a sign, perhaps, that the coalition is keen to undermine Miliband’s claim to post-partisanship (or whatever). Labour constantly criticise Cameron for being more Flashman than statesman. Now the same charge is being levelled at their leader too.

Elsewhere in the interview — as George Eaton details over at the New Statesman — Clegg again raises the prospect of axing the 50p tax rate, so long as “owners of high value property cannot avoid paying their fair share”. Let’s skip over the idea of “fair share” for now, to point out that — contra Vince Cable — Clegg downplays the idea of this coming via a mansion tax. Instead, he says, “it could be a range of things: the way the council tax system is structured; the way stamp duty is structured.” In any case, the arguments against 50p, and for its replacement, are already being propagated by the coalition. Their mind is set, it seems. The main question that remains is one of timing.