WITH David Cameron being asked if he is a man or a mouse, Nick Clegg wasted no time in flexing his political muscles by declaring that, if he had his way, pips, not mice, would be squeaking all over Britain.

The Deputy Prime Minister was seeking to create a bit of clear yellow water ahead of next month's party conference.

The LibDem troops, following constitutional defeats on AV and Lords reform are feeling a mite depressed, and so their leader is performing what has become a familiar ritual before the troops gather in Brighton – differentiation.

The Tory response to Mr Clegg's suggestion was predictable with backbencher Bernard Jenkin denouncing it as the "politics of envy" while George Osborne took a more diplomatic line, warning that the Coalition did not want to scare off wealth creators.

With chances high that the economic gloom will still be around at the next General Election, the Chancellor has signalled another £10 billion in welfare cuts, which makes the LibDems blanch. So their leader is flagging up an alternative source of income – the asset rich.

Tim Yeo's "man or mouse" challenge was surprising for its boldness – as was his Conservative colleague Brian Binley's description of Mr Cameron as Mr Clegg's "chambermaid" – but showed just how incensed some Tories are. They think their leader has been too nice and compliant to LibDem wishes.

With a reshuffle imminent and the Tory conference weeks away, the PM will be urged to show he is a man with a mission and not a wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie.