Why the “bigot“ row has done Clegg no good

The right are outraged, the left think he's a flip-flopper.

When Gordon Brown described voter Gillian Duffy as a “bigoted woman”, Nick Clegg declared that he would have to “answer” for his comments. Now the Deputy Prime Minister is having to do the same. A press release issued in advance of a speech given by Clegg on gay marriage suggested that he would describe opponents of the policy as “bigots”. It read:

Continued trouble in the economy gives the bigots a stick to beat us with, as they demand we “postpone” the equalities agenda in order to deal with “the things people really care about”. As if pursuing greater equality and fixing the economy simply cannot happen at once.

But after Clegg’s remarks prompted predictable outrage among some on the right, his office issued a “recall” email to journalists, followed by a corrected email. The latter replaced the words “gives the bigots a stick to beat us with, as they demand” with “leads some people to demand”. A spokesman for Clegg added that “This was not something the deputy prime minister has said. It’s not something he was ever going to say because it’s not something he believes. It was removed from the draft copy, that should never have been sent out, for that very reason.”

The damage, however, was done. Today, both the Mail and the Telegraph splash on the story, in an assault on the Lib Dem leader reminiscent of that before the last election. So it’s worth asking whether the row will help or hinder Clegg. For many on the left, “bigot” is the appropriate term for those who believe that same-sex couples should be denied the right to marry. A reminder that the Deputy Prime Minister feels the same way should, however briefly, improve his standing among liberals. Yet the fact that the Cabinet Office withdrew the email means that Clegg is enjoying few plaudits this morning. Instead, the affair is seen as further confirmation of his flip-flop approach to politics (cf. tuition fees, the NHS reforms). Once again, the Deputy PM has performed the dubious feat of uniting the left and the right in loathing for him.