Ah Yes, Nick Clegg.

During this election campaign British voters have experienced their first ever candidates debates. Apart from giving Sky News an excuse for endless hours of self promotion the debates gave the leaders of the three main political parties an equal platform to promote themselves. As this was the first time many voters had even heard of the Liberal Democrats (LibDems) and their leader Nick Clegg the party experienced a huge bounce in the opinion polls as some voters found them to be fresh, new and exciting.

Sadly though I'm the sort of person that when they arrive in Madrid for a romantic weekend their first thought is to get on the Internet to find out who won the LibDem leadership contest. So I am more then familiar with the LibDems, Nick Clegg and the alternative they offer.

Although it was formed in 1988 the most recent chapter in the LibDem's history began with the Labour Party's 1997 landslide election victory in 1997. Here the Conservative Party (the Tories) didn't so much lose as were destroyed. Overnight they went from being the party of government to struggling to hold onto second place and were said to be unelectable ever again. Things were so bad for them that at even the politest middle-class dinner parties announcing that you supported the Conservative party was less socially acceptable then admitting you were a paedophile. This created a huge problem for a generation of prospective Conservative MP's. Either they were honest about their political views and gave up on a career in politics or they could join the LibDems and get the cushy expense accounts they craved.

While he's never been famed for his strength of character Nick Clegg was at the cutting edge of this movement. So when he won the party leadership in 2007 the LibDems lost whatever vague connection they once had to David Lloyd George's* battling Liberal values. That means that the only alternative I can see the LibDems offering is a party with Conservative values that will sit alongside the Conservatives in government and do whatever the Conservatives tell them to do. If that's the alternative you may as well just vote for the Conservatives and avoid the charade of a hung parliament which sadly does not mean that we actually get to hang any of them.



*David Lloyd George was the legendary leader of the Liberal Party in the early part of the 20th century. If it is possible for one man to change the course of a nation then David Lloyd George is the reason that Britain never fell to the twin disasters of Communism or Fascism. To even mention him in the same breath as Nick Clegg is a grave insult to his memory.