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Martyn Oates
Political editor, South West
Nick Clegg brushes aside critics
Nick Clegg has responded to criticism from members of his own party
Nick Clegg was in bullish form when I spoke to him about his latest choice of ministers and the searing criticism he has been receiving from some members of his own party.
At the end of our brief exchange I was left in no doubt as to who wears the trousers when it comes to Liberal Democrat ministerial appointments.
But the rationale behind his latest move in the game of departmental chess still eludes me.
South West voicesBefore this month's reshuffle he had a minister (North Devon's Nick Harvey) at the MOD overseeing a review into future alternatives to the Trident nuclear missile system.
David Heath is the new Farming Minister at DEFRA
The Lib Dems' quest for an alternative to Trident stands in stark contrast to Conservative enthusiasm for like-for-like replacement.
They now have nobody with full-time responsibility for this (presumably) important brief.
In the wake of the reshuffle there was talk of David Laws taking on the Trident review in addition to his new responsibilities at Education.
Then it was announced that Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, will add this to his day job of helping George Osborne salvage the economy.
Meanwhile - in exchange for Nick Harvey at Defence - Mr Clegg now has a Farming Minister - Somerton and Frome's David Heath - at DEFRA.
In part, he says, this provides a Lib Dem ministerial voice for the rural South West.
Answering the criticsBut the fact remains that the Liberal Democrats are virtually at one with the Conservatives on most aspects of rural policy.
Even the badger cull was an election commitment for both parties.
Given that - as Mr Clegg points out here - he only has a limited number of ministerial jobs in his gift, the previous absence of a DEFRA minister wasn't a big deal even for rurally-minded Lib Dems.
Addressing a rally at the Liberal Democrat Conference on Saturday, the Deputy Prime Minister insisted he was "more determined than ever" to find the right alternative to a "monumentally expensive" like-for-like replacement of Trident.
Conference delegates are also being wooed with new left-of-centre policy ideas calculated to reassure the jitters of the rank and file - and distance the party from the Conservatives.
However, Mr Clegg was less than conciliatory to his critics within the party when I spoke to him...
Nick Clegg talks about his latest choice of ministers and responds to the criticism he has received from members of his party.
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Comment number 8.
ChrisKFP26th September 2012 - 8:28
I have no respect for the Tories nor the Lib Dems. I have been a lifelong LibDem voter, but Clegg's insistence in the face of ALL scientific evidence that the unnecessary and incredibly cruel slaughtering of English badgers is the right way to deal with bTB, has lost the Lib Dem party my vote for ever.
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Comment number 7.
C2DE26th September 2012 - 7:56
Clegg tells the truth for once
"Nick Clegg will urge his party to stick with the coalition and insist the government is on a path to prosperity"
How very true, it just the rest of us who are stuffed !
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Comment number 6.
inominatas26th September 2012 - 1:13
Party Conferences are gatherings of like minded people who spend a week congratulating & applauding each other, blowing their own trumpets & talking about plans and ideas without the faintest clue on how to execute them. Basically a week off for ‘politicians’ to wine & dine on taxpayers’ expense. Wake up Britain; it is about time this Great country is governed proper.
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Comment number 5.
inominatas26th September 2012 - 1:03
Instead of caring for ur ‘Premiership’ u should campaign or Britain, the welfare of its economy & people. Resolve present Black Hole of issues which the rich Tories treat with indifference & Labour deliberately ignore for fear of alienating the Scroungers. Tax payers’ money wasted on Benefit Fraudsters,The Lazy,owed EU Students’ Loans,NHS Tourism,Illegal Immigrants &international aid
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Comment number 4.
inominatas26th September 2012 - 0:45
Of course Nick Clegg will want to target the ‘Rich’, be them Mansion owners or Pensioners! For a starter they would not vote for Lib Dem anyway, as the 99.9% of the Rich are Tory voters, so he won’t be losing votes here, but rather he naively thinks he’ll be pulling Labour votes. He thinks the British voter is buttoned up…..!
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Comments 5 of 8