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| Nick Clegg asks Eastleigh voters to look past Chris Huhne drama | Nick Clegg asks Eastleigh voters to look past Chris Huhne drama |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Nick Clegg has called on voters in the Eastleigh byelection to look past the criminal behaviour which led to Chris Huhne's resignation and instead focus on the Liberal Democrats' policies and record. | Nick Clegg has called on voters in the Eastleigh byelection to look past the criminal behaviour which led to Chris Huhne's resignation and instead focus on the Liberal Democrats' policies and record. |
| Clegg said he was shocked by the disgraced former cabinet ministers conduct, which resulted in Huhne quitting as an MP after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice. | |
| The byelection will see the Lib Dems engage in a full-blooded fight with their coalition partners, the Conservatives, who hope to regain a seat they lost in 1994. | |
| Clegg said Huhne's criminal conduct and the trial of the former MP's ex-wife, Vicky Pryce, would undeniably be an issue in the campaign but voters would be able to separate the legal drama from the political issues. | |
| He told Sky News's Murnaghan programme on Sunday: "As I have said before, I was very shocked and sad to see what happened and to see that his whole family has been engulfed in this in a very public way. | |
| "I think you have to have a heart of stone not to think that is a pretty shocking and sad thing." | "I think you have to have a heart of stone not to think that is a pretty shocking and sad thing." |
| Clegg said he had taken Huhne's assurances at face value and was only informed about his change of plea the night before he admitted the offence. | Clegg said he had taken Huhne's assurances at face value and was only informed about his change of plea the night before he admitted the offence. |
| He said: "I've heard lots of people say they don't like what's happening in the court, but they actually think that what he did as a local MP was the model of a Liberal Democrat working hard for the local community. | |
| "I think most people will be able to separate the courtroom drama … I don't think people will make their judgment on that about who they want to represent them in parliament for the future. | |
| "I think what people will care about is what does it mean for jobs in the local area, what does it mean for housing in the local area, what does it mean for fair taxes in the local area. Those are they kind of things we are going to be campaigning on between now and byelection day." | |
| Clegg said the coalition would remain strong despite the prospect of a bruising contest with the Conservatives on the doorstep in the Hampshire seat. He even suggested David Cameron could end up in the constituency at the same time as him. | Clegg said the coalition would remain strong despite the prospect of a bruising contest with the Conservatives on the doorstep in the Hampshire seat. He even suggested David Cameron could end up in the constituency at the same time as him. |
| "We may end up there at the same time, that would be a change from sitting around the same table in Whitehall to actually campaigning in different streets in Eastleigh." | "We may end up there at the same time, that would be a change from sitting around the same table in Whitehall to actually campaigning in different streets in Eastleigh." |
| Clegg added: "I don't think there is any reason at all why we can't compete vigorously in a byelection and spell out in a grown up, forthright way where we differ." | Clegg added: "I don't think there is any reason at all why we can't compete vigorously in a byelection and spell out in a grown up, forthright way where we differ." |
| He insisted it was a great opportunity for the Lib Dems to highlight their achievements and that it was right not to agree a truce with the Tories over the seat. "I personally am always against any kind of whiff of stitch-ups because it is important to give people a choice," he said. | He insisted it was a great opportunity for the Lib Dems to highlight their achievements and that it was right not to agree a truce with the Tories over the seat. "I personally am always against any kind of whiff of stitch-ups because it is important to give people a choice," he said. |
| Mike Thornton, a parish and borough councillor since 2007, was selected to fight the seat for the Lib Dems in a hustings on Saturday. He will be up against the Tory candidate, Maria Hutchings, a staunch Eurosceptic and opponent of Cameron's gay marriage reforms which have split the party. She previously stood against Huhne in 2010, losing out by 3,864 votes. | Mike Thornton, a parish and borough councillor since 2007, was selected to fight the seat for the Lib Dems in a hustings on Saturday. He will be up against the Tory candidate, Maria Hutchings, a staunch Eurosceptic and opponent of Cameron's gay marriage reforms which have split the party. She previously stood against Huhne in 2010, losing out by 3,864 votes. |
| The Eastleigh byelection takes place on 28 February. |