Nick Clegg has filmed an apology for the party’s pledge over tuition fees, which will be broadcast to coincide with the Liberal Democrat party conference.
The Lib Dem leader says:
“I’d like to take the opportunity to set a few things straight. When I meet people around the country, it’s obvious that you have strong and pretty mixed reactions to things the Liberal Democrats have done in government . . . I meet people who are disappointed and angry that we couldn’t keep all our promises, above all our promise not to raise tuition fees.”
He that it was a “mistake” to make the pledge, when the only way that Lib Dems would be in power was as a coalition partner of Labour or the Tories, who wanted to raise fees. Clegg adds:
“There’s no easy way to say this: we made a pledge, we didn’t stick to it and for that I am sorry. . . When we’re wrong, we hold our hands up. But when we’re right we hold our heads up too. We were right to leave the comfort of opposition to face the realities of Government and I know we are fighting for the right things.”
Making the video is a bold move from Clegg: will it “detoxify” the Lib Dem brand, or cement the image of him as a weak leader who has lost his core voters’ support? Here’s the video, courtesy of ITV: decide for yourself.
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