Nick Clegg

When people meet a comedian, they often say "Well say something funny". Likewise, when they meet a politician, the first thing that springs to mind is "Tell me a lie then..."

But we thought Nick was going to be different.

In the Liberal manifesto, at the last election, they pledged to resist and vote against any increase in the tuition fees. Further more, over 500 Liberal candidates at the last election signed the following:

"I pledge to vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament and to pressure the government to introduce a fairer alternative"

Take note of the part where they said they would pressure the government - implying that they knew they weren't going to BE the government but would use their votes to resist.

All through the campaign, in speech after speech Clegg promised that tuition fees were his line in the sand. Something he wouldn't compromise on. He gave his word, he signed a pledge, he crossed his heart and hoped to die......

Then, at the first whiff of power, Deputy Prime Minister in fact, he abandoned his principles, betrayed those that voted for him and his party, and showed the world what a lying, two-faced, corruptible cunt he really is.

There's promises and there's promises - especially in politics - but there are some things that you have to stand up for. And giving your word, signing a pledge and making that pledge a core part of your manifesto, is one of them.

Nick Clegg - you're a contemptible, lying, oath-breaking, untrustworthy, piece of shit. I wouldn't even give you the cheese under my foreskin if you were starving. Enjoy your year or so in the spotlight because, when the next election comes, you're going to be destroyed and wiped from the face of British politics. A taste of what's to come will be in the Council elections in May.

Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Thu 2 Dec 2010, 22:33, 49 replies)

Did you really expect anything different from a politician?

( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Thu 2 Dec 2010, 22:43, closed)

I Know
Pathetic, isn't it?

I've been around long enough to know better but I still get taken in by a fresh-faced man in a sharp suit.

One day I'm going to meet an honest politician who keeps his word. The shock will probably kill me...
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Thu 2 Dec 2010, 22:48, closed)

No.
Really, you're not. Ever. So you might want to reconsider that life goal.

For that way lie dragons and disappointment.
(Large Hardon Collider Bah Bloody Humbug, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 9:49, closed)

Oh boo fucking hoo
I'm sorry legless I really enjoy your posts but for fuck's sake man what did you really expect?
( pixel_fucker is going to need a bigger brush, Thu 2 Dec 2010, 22:50, closed)

While I understand Legless's anger ...
I never expected anything else from a Lib Dem: spinless, ball-less, gutless fence-sitting political prostitutes who only care about changing the voting system to give them more MPs who can whore their orange backsides to whoever pays the most.

Sorry.
( calgacus Non sum qualis eram bonae sub regno Cynarae, Thu 2 Dec 2010, 22:56, closed)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv1OigmYcvQ
( Evil Prof. Pixel Masher I made this!, Thu 2 Dec 2010, 23:28, closed)

Been
singing that since the newsletter came out. Top work.

Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Thu 2 Dec 2010, 23:31, closed)

the game is bigger than any individual player.
( enoughblueskyforsailorstrousers, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 0:01, closed)

That doesn't mean
individual players don't have an influence
(SnowyTheWereRabbit the Leporid from Hell, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 0:16, closed)

of course.
( enoughblueskyforsailorstrousers, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 2:14, closed)

I totally understand
Shirley it's fair to have faith in a politician? If not then why believe in politics or even talk about it at all?
Otherwise why do we vote? If you don't, fair enough, that's a right you have as much as I do to make my voice heard by crossing an 'X'
I have always been a Labour voter. My dad was a very involved Labour man, and I helped in local elections for years.
However, I believed that Nick Clegg would REALLY make a difference. I think he would have if they had won. (yes I still like to think that)
I was mortified when they jumped into bed with the Tories.
Only to be expected though, he had to be in the limelight. It's a similar need I think as an out of date musician, wanting to be 'on stage' again.
The worst thing is, I think his actions will turn this country into a 2 party choice. Who the FUCK is going to think the Lib Dems are now an option?
He has not only destroyed a 3rd party choice in this country but, he has made me ashamed at the support I showed at the ballot box, AND the influence I gave to my son.
I hope he hangs his head in shame forever.
( Herb Alpert's Taxi Driver I have very beautiful lips, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 0:57, closed)

Totally
agree. Next general election I think the Lib Dems are going to be wiped out. Win not a single seat with lib votes going to Labour.

We expected the Tories to be cunts - that's why we're not so angry with them. They're just acting to type. But we expected better from Nick Clegg. If he'd played his cards right, then the Lib Dems could have been serious contenders at the next General Election. But no. He's destroyed his party for a fleeting moment of power.
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 1:14, closed)

Agreed
They were "getting there", rising all the time with their common sense policies, and overall underdog affability. Clegg has sold them out big style, and as has been said, they will disappear as a viable 3rd option at the next General Election, because as most people have pointed out, most politicians are lying cunts- but to break a pledge is tantamount to political suicide.
( Duke Of Belmsford has got 99 records, but Jay-Z ain't one, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 6:58, closed)

On the upside...
It's convinced Labour to sort themselves out, or at the very least to re-examine some of their bonkers policies.

Then again, considering the content of the OP it's very likely they'll promise the moon on a stick and then go back to their old ways.

Time for a B3ta party methinks!
(chuckle_h0und You furnish the pictures, I'll furnish the war, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 9:58, closed)

:S
The only worry I have is that it will put the BNP into either 3rd or 2nd place here - Labour won by a landslide and Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and BNP were a three way tie for 2nd
(Shamrock, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 13:36, closed)

Rising all the time?
If Labour hadn't done so badly, Clegg would have been out of a job. The Lib Dems lost five seats, lost a twelfth of their seats at a time of record popularity and visibility for them. He would have had to resign as leader, Vince Cable would have taken over and the country would have a different Government in power.

As it is, having lost so many seats and wangling his way to a coalition place he's (ironically enough) fucked them at the ballot box for a generation.
(dozers, do fuck off ur a nob m8, Sat 4 Dec 2010, 1:25, closed)

Legless, you can also blame him for your little penis and tendency to be a crying wanker

( Light In Chains maker of the ikea sofa, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 8:02, closed)

Ah - Hello Rory!
Nice to see you back. Nice to see you're up to your old tricks of whining to your betters. And, by betters, I mean anyone who isn't you.

And you really should try and get over your obsession with penis size and wanking. People are starting to talk...

And, while I'm on, why don't you change your username from Rory Lion (Roary Lion - probably your greatest intellectual moment coming up with that name) to something more suitable? I suggest "Whining Fuckwit"

Hope this helps.

Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 8:27, closed)

That's what happens
when the party that came 3rd has the deciding vote and votes the party that came 2nd into power.
( buffet_the_appetite_slayer ٩(●̮̃•)۶ jacked in to the ICE on, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 8:04, closed)

^^
no this is what happens when you or anyone else seem to live in the belief that any party you vote in will be any less corrupt that the one before it. The older you get the more cynical and pessimistic you become but let me tell you there's a very good reason for that happening its called "waking up and smelling the coffee". It doesn't matter who you vote in because while they hold the purse strings there is only one set of people who ever get better off when a new party/parties get in and that's the people in the new party/parties themselves and the external businesses they are involved or investing in. I could go on but David Icke im not.
(Cov Boy, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 9:19, closed)

Yeah, it really is the voters' fault, isn't it?
How dare they even begin to consider that politicians might do and say the same thing for once!
(Sivvus trolley collision in the fruit aisle led to a jam, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 11:15, closed)

What utter bollocks. This kind of response is
the very worst reaction to the existence of self-serving and corruption in politics.
Cynicism is childish, lazy, pathetic and ultimately self-destructive. It lets the corrupt prosper and undermines those who are grown up enough to know that, although you can't win every fight, that doesn't mean they aren't worth fighting.

Grown-ups take some fucking responsibility not sit there and sigh about the state of the world - that's for adolescents.
( chenobble rocking his explorer beard on, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 11:22, closed)

my response isn't utter bollocks

how does the average person even begin to take on the system ?

1.The system can take the one thing away from you that is precious to you and that's time. The police can arrest you for a public order offence or causing a fray or assault on a officer and a multitude of other trumped up new terrorist offences. Then you have a criminal record or even a sentence.

2.What happened to the fire extinguisher rebel (begging to not be sent down in court.) What happened to the guy who led the truckers against fuel costs when they hit a all time high of a pound. His family were threatened anonymously and he decided to not carry on with his quest for cheap fuel.

I hear you and i respect you and legless for feeling so dedicated to a better world and i wish to christ things were different in this country i really do, i have a little un im trying to bring up into it. But i from age and experience know that your morals will fall by the wayside when you move on and have a family / dependants. You don't have to believe me but that's the truth from where im standing. Standing up for what you truly believe in always comes at a cost or sacrifice if you think im talking bollocks make a stand and i will see how far your crusade lasts and what unfolds in the papers.
(Cov Boy, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 12:26, closed)

Oi Cov Boy.
That's _my_ country you're whining in.
It's the country that my kid is going to have to grow up in.

If you're not willing to stand up for what you believe in, stand up for giving your child something to beleive in.
If you're not willing to do that, door's on your left, don't let it hit you in the spine on the way out.
( DukeEuphoria Comes highly reccomended, Sun 5 Dec 2010, 23:02, closed)

Am I missing something?
When did Clegg suddenly get the power to put into practice his manifesto?
The coalition government is just that. Shared power. I'm sure he's fighting just to be heard, let alone push through a tenth of his party's promises.
It was obvious that there would be compromises on both sides, as reported on ad-nausium through the whole shambles that was the election.
To single out Clegg as a liar on just this one point he probably had no control over is a bit naïve, especially when you consider the rest of the cabinet.
Every election (and I mean EVERY election) the manifesto invariably goes out the window when the winning team gets/stays in power.
Sure people can complain about anything they want, but I suspect most of the population are wondering why students feel they are so hard done by. They should put the emphasis on complaining about the fees, not that they were lied to.
(Kliper Filllets Getting noticed by twats on the internet since, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 9:57, closed)

I agree with this
It's not Clegg's policy, he's just not opposing it (in the interests of a greater good/because he's been told not to/to kiss Cameron's arse - whatever you prefer). Can we direct the bile at whoever proposed the policy?
(sabre-tooth monkey, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 10:01, closed)

You're Missing Something

He gave his WORD. He put it in writing and signed a pledge. People believed him and voted for him because of that.

It's a principle.

But it turns out Clegg doesn't have any principles. Anyone with the slightest degree of personal honour couldn't U-Turn the way Clegg has done. He still holds the balance of power and he could still block this rise if he had the courage of his convictions. Yeah, it might mean that would lose his position as Deputy PM and force another election. The silly twat doesn't see that if he did force an election on a point of principle he'd stand an excellent chance of massively increasing his vote.

As it is, he'd rather cling to his moment in the Sun then watch his party go down into oblivion.

The twat.

Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 10:16, closed)

A politician with principles?
They went out with Dennis Skinner.
If anything Clegg should be berated for making a promise that he obviously couldn't keep unless he was in absolute power. Which he isn't.
Effectively resigning any power he has out of principle on this one pledge would essentially mean letting the Tories have free reign on anything else. You may not like the situation, but do you really think ANYONE would reasonably expect him to lose the war just to win one battle?
I understand this is an emotional subject, and I'm not happy with it either, having children of 11 and 14 that are soon to cost me a small fortune to educate further. I just think the bile is being directed the wrong way. If Clegg had PROMISED to give everyone in the country a million pounds if he got in to power, would you expect him to keep that promise too?
There are far worse things going on that we should be angry about, that will be costing us a lot more in the long run.
(Kliper Filllets Getting noticed by twats on the internet since, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 10:28, closed)

He Doesn't Have To Resign

All he has to do is to have the Lib Dems vote against the rise. He can't lose. If Cameron gets pissed and kicks him out of the cabinet, then Labour can force a no confidence vote that Cameron will lose. Then the Torys would be annihilated at the General Election, the Lib Dems would be seen as a party that sticks to it's promises and principles and would gain some decent credibility. Politically, it's a no-brainer. Clegg has the power to force Cameron to back down or face a General Election that he'd lose...

Sometimes, the tail can wag the dog. If the tail has the guts....

Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 11:08, closed)

This

( Peej, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 11:13, closed)

Don't tell me...
Tell him. If it's that clear cut and a win-win situation.

The problem is that you're using logic. The masses don't run on logic. They do what the Sun/Mail et al tell them.

People are still blaming the Labour party for the "Global" Economic Recession. The fact that Brown kept us out of the Euro and hence (in hindsight) out of the really deep shit seems to go unnoticed.

I don't think anyone is clever enough to predict a general election outcome, and in politics there is never even enough information to make a really informed decision. People take sides depending on one or two issues that effect them, and bias their arguments to suit that stance. I've had people that can't even manage their own finances properly argue what Gordon Brown should have done to stave off a recession.

Your argument that the Lib Dems could force an election that gets Labour elected but some credibility for them doesn't seem to be a very good gamble. Lose power but gain intangible credibility... Hmmm.

Just look at how the Lib Dems had boundless credibility when they said they'd raise taxes by 1p to pay directly for schools and hospitals. Marvellous idea, showed guts too. Then they got wasted in the election...
(Kliper Filllets Getting noticed by twats on the internet since, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 11:30, closed)

^This
I think it's a fairly shitty policy decision as well, but the Lib Dems clearly got into the coalition in the hope that they could get some of their policies through or temper some of the Tory policies. I don't think that this is anything but a reality check for the voting public. The Lib Dems have never had this power before so their credibility and honesty haven't really been tested. The credibility that they are losing now is simply the credibility that the other two parties lost years ago.

One of the main policies that the Lib Dems want to get through is voting reform. If they can use this to get a share/chance of power that is actually proportional to their share of the vote, it would seem ridiculous to trade it in over a single issue. As KF points out, all the credibility in the world means nothing if you have sod all power.

Finally, the Lib Dems (along with the Tories) created the coalition on the basis of trying to create a stable government (while no doubt being happy to get their grubby paws on some power). Having pledged to try to make it work (which would obviously involve compromise) they risk looking immature and whiny if they destroy it within a year.
(flimflam_machine, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 12:29, closed)

^That
Mostly agree. The Holy Grail for the Lib-Dems is voting reform. BUT - they should have demanded that voting reform goes through BEFORE voting for measures that make then look like promise-breaking cunts. They could put a caveat on the bill - voting-reform doesn't come into effect until 2012. Or similar.

But until they've got that on the statute books they should be telling Cameron to act like a duck.

Stick his tuition-fees bill up his arse.

Cheer
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 12:48, closed)

Agreed
The Voting Reform bill will just mean that the Lib Dems end up with the same number of MPs - increasing their number by AV or whatever but then getting wiped out at the next election. Someone may have even crunched the numbers and realised that if the Bill goes through and the Lib Dems lose 50% (say) of their vote, it would still leave them with 2 or 3 MPs less overall and they can then begin the long road to building their voting base back up.

S
(Shamrock, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 13:48, closed)

That's the same Denis Skinner
who claimed thousands of pounds of our money to call his garage an "office" and has recently been booted out of the Labour party? He had principles, just not terribly good ones.

Scum, like the rest of them.
(Leonard Hatred briefly did some work on, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 12:50, closed)

Yes,
It was the last person that said he'd be a minister and not have any other jobs.
And yet he proved they are all just following human nature in the end.
I suspect a principled politician would never actually get into a position of power in the first place. That's why I'm amazed people think they would live up to their pledges.
When you do get someone that's principled, like Joanna Lumley, you know that if she got into power she'd be lost on anything other than her one cause.
If you take an overview of British political history, this wouldn't even get a footnote.
(Kliper Filllets Getting noticed by twats on the internet since, Sat 4 Dec 2010, 11:22, closed)

This ^
(clapping noise for Legless)
(SpangoTheWonderBadger is brewing beer, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 10:59, closed)

As Paul Vallely reminds us
One of the great stalwarts of 20th century British journalism, Louis Heren, was given a piece of advice when he was a reporter in Washington. He passed it on to me, over lunch at the Garrick, when I was a young reporter on The Times and he was its recently retired august Deputy Editor. Whenever you are interviewing a politician, a US veteran journalist told him, always keep at the front of your mind the question: “Why is this lying bastard lying to me”.
(unclestinky, Mon 6 Dec 2010, 3:30, closed)

You should wash your nob more often.

( Dervel OTBC, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 11:59, closed)

Once A Decade
is quite enough.

For the last five years I've been trying an experiment. I'm seeing if I can actually get intelligent life to develop in my bell-end. So far, it's not going well. The best I managed was Rory Lion two years ago.....


Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 12:09, closed)

Don't make him petulant.
You wouldn't like him when he's petulant.

(or at all, for that matter)
( Happy Phantom has been to Hastings, Brighton, and Eastbourne too, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 14:31, closed)

Thank you for that
I was out on the march, my friends have been occupying a uni building for what is approaching two weeks now. You put into words what we've all been feeling.
(epinephrine, Fri 3 Dec 2010, 15:37, closed)

I was/am hoping
That he is siding with Cameron, because he's been promised something in return - something tangible, not just a cock sucking - that will bring about benefit for us proles.
( VandenPlas can't think of anything clever - no change there!, Sat 4 Dec 2010, 16:53, closed)

Politicians should keep their word
Personally I have no sympathy for students (suck it up like everybody else) but politicians shouldn't backtrack on promises without profoundly good reasons. The most likely reason for backsliding is he's a minority stakeholder in a coalition. He was told to fuck off and die on this particular issue.
(MagicMoose, Sat 4 Dec 2010, 19:36, closed)

Oh....
Boo-hoo-hoo

Labour told you that a vote for the Lib Dem's was a vote for the Tories, but you chose to ignore them and now look where we are.


What did you think would happen? Frankly, your sense of outrage does nothing other than make me chuckle. You've just learned a very bitter lesson. Hope you take it to heart,
(El Fandango carved a big EF onto his nemesis' doublet on .., Sun 5 Dec 2010, 20:30, closed)

The Lib Dems and the Tories are two sides of the same coin.
Both are geared towards educated homeowners in the south-east, both are wholly reliant on this part of society for support, and neither have anything to offer for anyone outside this little elite.
( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Mon 6 Dec 2010, 1:26, closed)

As an educated home-owner in the South-East
when I read the news or open my bank statement, I can tell you I don't feel like any kind of fucking elite...
(moon monkey is busy making memories worth repressing, Mon 6 Dec 2010, 11:16, closed)

Oh come now!
The Lib Dems have always told people what they wanted to hear, with little regard for that little thing called reality.

Did it not give it away before the election when they were attacking Labour for overspending on the public sector? This is the same party who campaigned in the elections throughout the 90s for an increase to the basic rate of income tax in order to fund a public sector expansion. The party doesn't really know whether it's socialist or not! If you ask a Lib Dem supporter what the party stands for they'll probably come up with some variant on the concept of "fairness". Whatever the hell that means!

The real truth is that it makes absolutely no difference what parties say before election. Circumstances change and pledges will be broken. This has happened a million times before and this u-turn from Clegg is hardly unique even if it is quite impressive.

The real difference between the Lib Dems and the Tories/Labour is the with the latter two, the parties are founded on certain principles that make them predictable in the face of changing circumstances. The spending plans that parties lay out before elections become irrelevant if a year later tax revenues turn out to be 25% lower than projected. But people know that the Tories would err on the side of harsher spending cuts, Labour would err on the side of yet more borrowing and taxation. If tax revenues are 25% higher, the Tories would err on the side of tax cuts, Labour would err on the side of protecting the public sector. With the Lib Dems, who the hell knows what they would do? The party doesn't appear to have any guiding principle other than some nebulous concept of "fairness" (which in political terms is whatever gives them the highest opinion polls that week). It is therefore unsurprising that when they actually get into power and that little thing called "reality" gets in the way of all their overblown promises, we see u-turns that would impress a joyriding chav fleeing the police.

Really, what did you expect?
(Mr T, Mon 6 Dec 2010, 15:40, closed)

...and here's the video to go with your post.
It'd make me sad if it didn't look quite so bloody funny now.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTLR8R9JXz4
( TFD is sporting this season's finest necropants, Tue 7 Dec 2010, 0:36, closed)