CONFERENCE SPECIAL
NICK AGREES WITH ED… AND DAVE
STORY OF THE DAY
WE HEAR THAT… Vince Cable supporters have been stirring up rumours that Ed Miliband has ‘kindly’ reciprocated Clegg’s warm words by announcing he intends to abolish the position of Deputy Prime Minister if elected. Glasgow has been paying the Party a somewhat backhanded compliment... Airport-style security checks by G4S have caused consternation in the Exhibition Hall. The LGBT Liberal Democrats’ rainbow banner has been the latest to suffer from their screening for ‘offensive material’.
Nick Clegg’s door is open to Labour. That’s the message of his interview with Nick Robinson yesterday, in which he said “of course I would serve in a Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition”. Explaining why he feels he could work with Labour, the Deputy Prime Minister took to the theme that has dominated the Liberal Democrat Conference: that singleparty governments can no longer be trusted. It’s a convenient argument for Clegg as it implies perpetual coalition, but also one that may resonate, given the public’s low estimation of all political parties. Clegg is expected to hammer home this message in today’s speech where he will say, “The absolute worst thing to do would be to give the keys to Number 10 to a single party government”. Should the voters agree, he has now made it clear he could work with either side. While Lib Dem members will welcome the news, expect a strong reaction during the Conservative Conference.
TODAY’S KEY EVENT Stronger Economy, Fairer Society: the mantra of Conference is likely to be belted out by the Lib Dem Leader in his closing speech at 14:50. Clegg will undoubtedly get an ovation from delegates, but the real battle will be fought in the media. He’ll be keen to prove that criticism of the Tories hasn’t just been an attempt to differentiate them, but show that the Lib Dems are the third party of Government the country needs.
Daily Bulletin 2013
TWEET OF THE DAY @Rob_Merrick 3pm: Alexander: “No spending bonanza round the corner”. 5pm: Clegg: “£600m for free school meals!”
A GOOD DAY FOR...
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A BAD DAY FOR…
Charles Kennedy MP. In his sole appearance at Conference the former Leader received one of the biggest standing ovations. Kennedy said the Party must be prepared to risk unpopularity and stand up for its belief in Europe. He stressed that if there were a referendum the Lib Dems couldn’t rely on any of the other major parties to provide a rational pro-Europe voice.
Lib Dem Conference. After garnering quite a bit of press coverage in the first few days, on the day of the Leader’s speech the Conference was barely mentioned by big-hitters like the Today programme. Meanwhile, the Labour Press Team has been gleefully reporting low delegate numbers, noting voting figures have almost halved since 2007and asking, “Where have the members gone?”.
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