Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg bids to win over region

May 5 2010 by William Green, The Journal

NICK Clegg will be targeting the North East on the last day of canvassing today in a bid to smash Labour’s grip on the region.

The Liberal Democrat leader will make his final campaign stop in Durham ahead of tomorrow’s general election.

Mr Clegg told The Journal that Labour has failed the region and the Lib Dems were now the “authentic champion” for the North East.

Party activists believe seats in Durham City, Newcastle, Gateshead and Northumberland could fall to the Lib Dems.

But a PoliticsHomes/YouGov poll yesterday claimed support for the party fell following gains last week. It put the Lib Dems down 6% in the North East in a poll aggregating results in the seven days up to last Sunday. Based on its figures, the Lib Dems would win 29% of the vote, up 6% on the 2005 general election.

Labour would get 44% cent of the vote in the region and the Conservatives 22%.

Last night, Mr Clegg said: “As I know myself, being a Sheffield MP, it is difficult for people whose families have voted for Labour for a long, long time because of course they feel it is almost a betrayal perhaps not to vote Labour.

“But what I say to them is that they are not betraying Labour, it is Labour that has betrayed them.

“And they will find a home in the Liberal Democrats, where they will be made to feel welcome because we are a party dedicated to the fairness that Labour has failed to deliver.”

Asked about winning Newcastle seats, he said: “The North East generally is an area where we are able to do very, very well. It is one of the reasons why I have probably visited the North East as much, if not more than, any other region. I mean it is a region that I come to quite a lot. I absolutely love the North East and I think the North East has been taken for granted and let down by Labour for too long.”

Mr Clegg also attacked David Cameron, claiming he was “measuring up the curtains for No 10” even before the results were known, while Labour had “arrogantly assumed” they owned the North.

And he added: “Don’t let any politician tell you what to do, don’t let any politicians to scare you into voting for anything other than for the future that you want.”.

Mr Clegg acknowledged public sector jobs would be lost as spending cuts are imposed, whoever wins the election. The Lib Dems believe money could be saved by scrapping strategic health authorities and the ID cards scheme, which employ people in the region. He said the equivalent amount of money would be used to employ 3,000 new police officers nationwide, with cash also going into jobs and keeping key public sector posts.

Asked about joining a coalition government, he said: “That’s not for me to decide. I am not going to start second guessing how people are going to vote.

“You have got 45 million people who are entitled to vote in this country. They are the boss, I am not going to put the cart before the horse.”

Mr Clegg declared voters could trust him and his party to deliver major changes whether they were in Government or Opposition.

His “red lines” are smaller class sizes, forcing bailed-out banks to lend to get the economy moving, restoring trust in politics and reforming the tax system so nobody pays any tax on the first £10,000 they earn.