The loss of his Parliamentary seat seems to have made Nick Clegg lose his senses

Nick Clegg, former leader of the Liberal Democrats and latterly a bit of a loon [Image: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg via Getty Images].

We all knew Nick Clegg was talking nonsense throughout his time as deputy prime minister; at least now he’s doing it openly.

He’s right that Labour’s decision to “demonise austerity” led to Jeremy Corbyn being elected as party leader – but completely wrong to present that policy position as something that is bad.

There was absolutely no point to austerity, other than to shrink the state, take money from the poor and give it to the rich. It had nothing whatsoever to do with the UK “living within its means”.

Austerity did not save any money at all. The UK is still running a huge deficit and the national debt has nearly tripled – as Nick Clegg well knows.

If he had wanted to get the UK out of debt, he would have advocated expanding the economy, putting more money into it and getting more out of it.

That’s what Labour’s manifesto promised.

The claim that Labour did not explain how the country could afford its policies was a lie, of course. Every policy was carefully costed and explained in the manifesto and accompanying documents.

Or perhaps Mr Clegg doesn’t understand how the UK economy works. If so, then why was he ever allowed to be deputy prime minister at all?

Nick Clegg has said Labour’s decision to “demonise austerity” as “evil” is what led to Jeremy Corbyn being elected its party leader.

The former Lib Dem leader said while he understood why voters liked Corbyn’s manifesto as it was “an invitation to the British public to have a warm bath and a nice cup of tea”.

But Clegg criticised Labour for not explaining how the country would afford its policies.

“I totally understand why they did this, but the Labour Party had been in government for 13 years and actually presided over many deeply regressive things, far more regressive than we would have allowed,” he said.

“They just loved being in Opposition suddenly in 2010 and found the easiest thing was to demonise any idea of how to save money.”

He added: “It’s what created Jeremy Corbyn. Because if you spend five years demonising austerity and some sort of evil choice, then of course you can never digest ideas that sometimes you need row back as a country in a way of living within the means of what you can afford.”

Read more: Nick Clegg Accuses Labour Of ‘Demonising Austerity’

7 Comments

  1. NMac September 19, 2017 at 4:06 pm - Reply

    Clegg discredited himself when he foolishly and, it seems naively, went into a coalition with the Tories.

  2. Thomas September 19, 2017 at 4:16 pm - Reply

    ” Nick Clegg Accuses Labour Of ‘Demonising Austerity’ ” – It’s not an accusation, it is a badge of honour.

  3. Audrey Pool September 19, 2017 at 5:10 pm - Reply

    The man’s a complete idiot who simply can’t grasp the fact that people see through the politicians lies and are fully aware that austerity was a political choice not a necessity.Corbyn offered an alternative to the status quo that the westminster elite of all patterns

  4. LilacWhispers September 19, 2017 at 6:12 pm - Reply

    He’s completely barmy!

  5. Derek Robinson September 19, 2017 at 7:24 pm - Reply

    Claggy is full of crap… He has also said earlier this year…..the Tories are only in it for themselves.
    They don’t care about those on low incomes and on benefits trying to make ends meet the best way that they can and feeling it’s them against the rest of the world.
    TORIES ARE HARD AND UNCARING!!

    If he knows this to be the case, he has condemned himself for complicity in the very acts the Tories carried out. His excuse that it was the deficit what made him do it, cut no ice back then and cuts no ice now. Austerity failed, the Debt soared and the return to economic growth Labour had achieved in two years after the crises was put to the sword. Claggy enabled this, he ought to apologise to the nation and then go and work in penury for charity.

  6. Barry Davies September 19, 2017 at 10:20 pm - Reply

    Clegg was deputy prime minister, aka no portfolio and no real power, at the time that Austerity was introduced so he has to support it, just like having worked for the eu he has to support that, he is between a rock and a hard place being stoned from the outside of his little world.

  7. Zippi September 20, 2017 at 1:03 pm - Reply

    Mr. Clegg, who wasn’t living within their means and who isn’t, now? You are spewing Tory claptrap! Go out into the real world and find out, for yourself, exactly what is going on!

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