Nick Clegg’s comedy act

I much recommend Nick Clegg’s weekend speech. Since it was given at the Liberal Democrat Spring some people may have missed it.

There is hardly a line that cannot draw a laugh. My favourite passage is this subtle reference to UKIP:

‘An ungenerous, backwards looking politics has emerged in Britain. The politics of blame has found an acceptable face: it wears a big smile and looks like someone you could have a pint with down the pub. So I’m drawing a line in the sand. I am going to defend the tolerant and modern Britain we love, and I am going to start by showing people what’s at stake at the upcoming European elections: do you want Britain in Europe, or out?’

I imagine that the success of this strategy will be demonstrated at the EU elections in May. But in the meantime, can any reader imagine why Nick Clegg in particular might want to avoid ‘the politics of blame’?