Clegg holds nerve as Lib Dem conference begins
Updated on 18 September 2010
We should enjoy being in power, the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg tells activists, with a strong defence of his role in the coalition government. Political Editor Gary Gibbon meets Mr Clegg's uneasy audience.
The Deputy Prime Minister kicked off the Lib Dem party conference today, urging the party to battle through the "most anxious psychological point" where it is gripped "by fear of the unknown".
The conference begins as new research shows that just over half of those who voted Lib Dem during the general election now believe Mr Clegg has "sold out".
According to a ComRes poll for the Independent on Sunday, 40 per cent would have voted differently if they had known about the Coalition deal with the Conservative party.
The news comes as the Lib Dem leader faces widespread unease among the membership over compromises on key party policies within the coalition government.
Mr Clegg, who arrived in Liverpool for the five-day event accompanied by deputy leader Simon Hughes, said the conference was a "great opportunity" to explain the coalition's long-term plan to activists.
Small bands of trade union protestors gathered brandishing banners saying "no to Con Dem cuts", giving Mr Clegg a taste of the larger-scale demonstrations planned for tomorrow.
Mr Clegg vowed to convince party activists that spending cuts were needed to "make things better for everyone" as he arrived at what is set to be a testing Liberal Democrat party conference.
Nick Clegg tells Lib Dems 'enjoy the power'
Nick Clegg says in his speech tonight that he doesn't know whether the Lib Dems would benefit or not from AV, writes political editor Gary Gibbon from the Lib Dem Conference in Liverpool.
He'll also use the speech to tell delegates to "enjoy" the pride of being in power "for a second".
Lib Dems strategists say there are plenty of party stalwarts who feel that way. I certainly met a few, chatting at random to folk around the Conference centre today.
Read Gary Gibbon's full blog on the Liberal Democrat Party Conference here.
Alongside former leader Charles Kennedy, Mr Clegg will hope to set the conference off on the right footing with a rally this evening launching the Yes campaign for the referendum on introducing the Alternative Vote system for Westminster elections – a key Lib Dem policy.
Mr Kennedy warned colleagues earlier this week not to "throw the baby out with the bath water" in signing up to drastic spending cuts.
With Chancellor George Osborne set to chalk out the cuts in next month's Spending Review, further tensions are on the horizon.
Persistent tensions within the coalition were highlighted only yesterday when Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable attacked plans for a cap on non-EU immigration - a measure included in the parties' agreement at the insistence of the Tories.
Meanwhile, today Mr Clegg sought to calm fears over plans for Britain's nuclear defence – stating that he will continue to press for a cheaper alternative to Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent – despite Prime Minister David Cameron's reiterated commitment.
However, Mr Clegg is expected to face an emergency debate at the conference demanding that Trident is axed altogether.
Mr Clegg is resigned to getting a rough ride, admitting that the party had reached the "most anxious psychological point", where they were gripped by "fear of the unknown".
Lib Dem rules state that motions passed by the annual conference automatically become party policy, but Mr Clegg's chief of staff, Norman Lamb, said earlier this week that its ministers would ignore any ballot that clashed with the coalition deal.
Benefit cuts could also be a flashpoint for dissent, with Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander suggesting that they could go even deeper than the £4bn signalled by Osborne.
It was angry Lib Dem backbenchers who forced Mr Osborne to the Commons on Monday to explain his plans amid complaints the squeeze would hit the most vulnerable despite assurances all cuts would be made in a "fair" way.
