For Sale to Highest Bidder: One Liberal Democrat Party (slightly soiled)

***

Writing in The Times today, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg effectively put his party on the market. A limited market to be sure and dependent on specific market conditions – a hung parliament – but Nick definitely put up a big “for sale” sign.

Here’s the sale notice:

"My message to Mr Brown and Mr Cameron is simple: the Liberal Democrats are up for real change. We are not up for sale."

Ignore the “we are not for sale” statement – that’s just Nick giving the other leaders a glimpse of his stocking tops. The rest of the article unashamedly sets out the nature of the deal Nick will (try and) lead his party into. A the key lies in the rhetoric rather than the substance (such as it is) of the Liberal Democrat offer.

Nick’s big word – ever the social democrat – is “fair”: fair taxes, fair start for children, a fair economy and fair politics. Now what we need to understand here is that Nick’s offer is specific – if there isn’t a clear and substantial role for him and his party there is no deal. Forget about the weasel words, Nick is doing what Steel, Ashdown and Kennedy did before – offering his party’s support to the highest bidder.

So don’t be fooled by Nick’s denial of his Party’s availability – put the right job and the right rhetoric on the table and he’s all yours!

...