Clegg takes to the floor but gets harassed by the cockroaches

UK Political Editor

Monday 11 March 2013

THE Liberal Democrat "cockroaches" – in the words of party president Tim Farron, when he tried to – are on the march, according to their leader.

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MICHAEL SETTLE UK POLITICAL EDITOR in brighton

While the twin controversies of Lord Rennard and Chris Huhne hung over the yellow peril at their conference in chilly Brighton, Nick Clegg was keen to accentuate the positive following their by-election victory in Eastleigh.

Mr Clegg insisted the LibDems were no longer the party of protest but of responsible government, doing the right thing – getting in bed with political foes – to save the economy.Normally, when Mr Clegg gets on stage the gripes and groans of delegates evaporate and the audience melts before its shining leader. Yet in a Q&A, there was, shock horror, heckling. One delegate urged the Deputy Prime Minister to "stop apologising" and start shouting about how the LibDems had saved the nation from the worst excesses of the Tories. Mr Clegg nodded – apologetically.And Mr Clegg suffered a stinging defeat when party activists overwhelmingly rejected so-called "secret courts" legislation for England and Wales, saying it went against "core" LibDem values.Meanwhile, he insisted there would be no backtracking on cutting the deficit – slapping down Vince Cable, his Business Secretary, who has floated the idea of borrowing more to increase investment. However Mr Cable describes this as Plan A Plus, it looks remarkably similar to plan B proposals from Labour and the SNP.While the political focus was on Mr Clegg and the LibDems over the weekend, the more worried party leader today must be David Cameron after a string of polls revealed a slide in Tory fortunes.One snapshot suggested only 7% of Tories now believed their leader would lead a majority government after the next election while most thought Ed Miliband would be in No.10.Another poll involving no fewer than 19,000 voters in 213 constituencies suggested the Tories would lose 93 seats and Labour would win an overall Commons majority of 84. And then there is the open manoeuvring by Theresa May, who laid out her ambition to be the next Tory leader; hardly a ringing endorsement of Mr Cameron.

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Clegg takes to the floor but gets harassed by the cockroaches

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