The Lib Dems have had a lot to get used to since coming into government: not least the growth of their conference from something that members could stroll in and out of with their knitting needles, and that only the most junior hacks were sent to. But only three years into holding conferences as a party of government, they’re starting to notice a pattern. Firstly, there will be a bit of rabble-rousing from the party’s president Tim Farron, who will drop some flirtatious hints about Labour, his heart beating on the left and how the Tories are a bit naughty. Then Vince Cable will say something a bit melancholy. Then Lord Oakeshott will say Nick Clegg needs to step aside in favour of Cable, who could march the party into a majority government in 2015. The only thing that’s missing from this year’s perfect reproduction of the pattern is Lembit Opik – for the time being at least.
But what’s interesting about Lord Oakeshott’s interview with the House magazine is that his comments, though the same, highlight how much has changed for Nick Clegg in just a year.
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