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Nick Clegg 'won't pull plug' on coalition Coalition will go the distance, say Cameron and Clegg
(about 7 hours later)
Nick Clegg is to insist the Liberal Democrats will not "pull the plug" on the coalition government ahead of the next general election. David Cameron and Nick Clegg have said they intend that the coalition will continue up until polling day in 2015.
In a speech at Westminster, the deputy prime minister will say he and David Cameron remain "absolutely committed" to maintaining their partnership. Separately both party leaders said their government would focus on the "big" issues like fixing the economy.
But Mr Clegg will accuse some Tory MPs of "game playing" over issues such as Europe and same-sex marriage. Seeking to move on from Tory warfare over same-sex marriage and Europe, Mr Cameron told the BBC there were still "big, bold reforms" to come.
The election is scheduled to take place in May 2015. There was still "life in the coalition" and more work ahead on issues like reforming welfare and schools, he said.
In an interview with Total Politics magazine, published at the weekend, Mr Cameron said maintaining the coalition remained the best course of action over the next two years, but added that "if that wasn't the case then we'd have to face the new circumstances in whatever way we should". There was speculation over the weekend that the coalition might end before the May 2015 general election.
'Distinct vision' BBC political editor Nick Robinson said some Conservatives were questioning whether Mr Clegg could survive as Lib Dem leader, if, after potentially difficult 2014 elections, others within his party insisted on splitting the coalition early.
Delivering his speech, Mr Clegg is expected to criticise the "rather creative coverage" of those comments, saying: "He echoed exactly what both of us have always believed. This coalition has been remarkably radical; it still has work to do; and the best way for us to serve and improve Britain is by finishing what we started. 'Sense of mission'
"I am absolutely committed to this coalition lasting until 2015 - as is the prime minister." It also follows much unhappiness among Conservative backbenchers over Europe, following the success of the Eurosceptic UK Independence Party in local elections this month and the coalition policy on same-sex marriage which returned to the Commons this week.
He will suggest that claims it would be in either or both parties' interests to "prematurely pull the plug" are wrong. But both the prime minister and his Lib Dem deputy sought to dismiss talk of early splits on Wednesday by insisting that they still had a big job to do.
Voters "will not forgive either party if we call time ahead of the election that has been legislated for in 2015 - destabilising the nation in the vague hope of short-term political gain", Mr Clegg will say. Mr Cameron told Today his task now was to deliver a "sense of mission" that the government was focused on issues that were "squarely in the national interest".
He admitted the issue of same-sex marriage, opposed by some of his MPs and activists, was divisive but said he was proud the new law had been passed by MPs.
The Conservative Party was a "broad church" and would continue to be under his leadership, he said.
On Europe, he said his party had managed to have "a disagreement... about an issue we actually agree about" - the need for reform and an in-out referendum.
But he said his planned date for a referendum - by the end of 2017 - would not change and he believed he could reform the European Union, despite doubts expressed by some some within his party.
It was Mr Cameron's interview with Total Politics magazine, published at the weekend, that had raised questions about the longevity of the coalition.
In it, he said maintaining the coalition remained the best course of action over the next two years, but added that "if that wasn't the case then we'd have to face the new circumstances in whatever way we should".
But asked about whether the coalition would survive until the 2015 election, he told the BBC on Wednesday: "That is absolutely my intention and has always been. This is a government that has an enormous programme of work...
"To anyone who doubts the life the life left in the coalition, I would argue there is more to come, very bold reforming and strong government and that is what we'll be right up until polling day."
And in a speech at Westminster, Mr Clegg said he and David Cameron remained "absolutely committed" to maintaining their partnership.
He said that claims it would be in either or both parties' interests to "prematurely pull the plug" were wrong.
Voters would "not forgive either party if we call time ahead of the election that has been legislated for in 2015 - destabilising the nation in the vague hope of short-term political gain".
It would not work for the Lib Dems to try to "pull the wool over people's eyes" and win back critics of the coalition deal by quitting six months early.It would not work for the Lib Dems to try to "pull the wool over people's eyes" and win back critics of the coalition deal by quitting six months early.
"And, frankly, that isn't what we want. The Liberal Democrats look forward to fighting the next election as a party of government, on our record in government, and with a distinct vision of our own for the next government - having seen this one through until the end." But he criticised "Parliamentary game playing" by some Conservative MPs.