Spokesman says Liberal Democrat leader will remain in post until 2020, regardless of whether party forms another coalition
Nick Clegg has been forced to make clear that he would remain leader of the Liberal Democrats until 2020, regardless of whether he succeeded in taking his party back into government at the general election.
Amid speculation in Lib Dem circles that Clegg would quit if he failed to establish a second coalition next year, a spokesman for the deputy prime minister said he intended to remain leader "through the whole of the parliament".
Clegg, who told the Lib Dem spring conference he wanted to return the party to office as the "guardians of a modern, open and tolerant Britain", issued a statement after apparent signals that he might stand down if he failed to form another coalition. Clarifying his plans, a spokesman for the deputy prime minister said: "Nick Clegg intends to be the leader of the Liberal Democrats today, tomorrow, into the 2015 election and through the whole of the next parliament. He intends to be leader of the Liberal Democrats whether or not we're in government."
The deputy prime minister will fight hard to maintain the party's base at next year's general election in the hope he will once again hold the balance of power. But it is widely believed among Lib Dems that Clegg, who will be 48 at the election, will pursue a new career if he fails.
The spokesman for the deputy prime minister initially appeared to lend credence to this thinking when he confirmed only that Clegg would remain leader if the Lib Dems formed another coalition. Before the later statement, he said: "It is for the British people to decide if the Liberal Democrats are back in government again. But if the Liberal Democrats are back in government again then Nick Clegg intends to serve a full term."
Clegg enjoyed strong support at the spring conference in York, with delegates giving him a standing ovation at the end of his speech in which he spoke of his love for Britain and cast the Lib Dems as the only enthusiastic pro-EU party.
But the question over his future intentions is focusing attention on possible successors.
Tim Farron, the Lib Dem president who is waging an energetic Twitter campaign to reach out to the party grassroots, was a highly visible presence throughout the weekend and is expected try to win from the left in the next leadership contest.
Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury who would be seen as the centrist continuity candidate, was the only cabinet minister to be singled out for praise in Clegg's speech.
The deputy prime minister said his party had an important role to act as a restraining influence on both Labour and the Tories in government. He said Labour could not be trusted on the economy because they were the party of "profligacy". The Tories wanted to embark on a "remorseless shrinking of our public services" and would force the working age poor to suffer "especially tough sacrifices" with £12bn of extra welfare cuts in the next parliament.
Clegg said: "When I tell you that we need to get back into government again – protecting Britain from one-party rule – this is why: we are the guardians of a modern, open and tolerant Britain … We are the only party who will not ask the British people to choose between a stronger economy and a fairer society."
He warned of a dangerous lurch to the far right on continental Europe but made a point of distinguishing Ukip from the likes of the Front National in France and Golden Dawn in Greece. He said: "These are not far flung places. This is our backyard. The forces of chauvinism, protectionism and xenophobia have been emboldened. And there is no doubt about it: the fight is now on for the future direction of our continent."
But he did warn that Ukip embodied a "backwards looking politics".
He said: "We are lucky. Thankfully we do not have the same extremism here in the UK. But that's not to say the fight isn't on for the future of our country too. An ungenerous, backwards looking politics has emerged in Britain."
The deputy prime minister said that his enthusiastic support for the EU, which helps to guarantee millions of jobs, is explained by his love of Britain. Clegg, whose mother is Dutch, reeled off a list of national quirks, including the way in which people nowhere near the sea listen to the shipping forecast and that people wear flip flops even when it is cold.
He said: "I love Britain. I love it for all its contradictions. I love that we are as modest as we are proud.
"I love that a country capable of extraordinary pomp and ceremony can still retain a spiky irreverence towards its establishment. A country where we line the streets waving our Union Jacks wildly to welcome the arrival of Prince George, and the next moment we're chuckling at Private Eye's front page: 'Woman Has Baby'."
Nick CleggLiberal DemocratsGeneral election 2015Nicholas Watttheguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds |
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