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| Cameron and Clegg: the coalition will last five years | Cameron and Clegg: the coalition will last five years |
| (4 months later) | |
| David Cameron and Nick Clegg have vowed the coalition will last the full five-year term, as the deputy prime minister urged the Conservatives not to shift right in a doomed bid to head off Ukip. | David Cameron and Nick Clegg have vowed the coalition will last the full five-year term, as the deputy prime minister urged the Conservatives not to shift right in a doomed bid to head off Ukip. |
| Clegg warned Tory MPs off "arcane, shrill and tongue-twisting manoeuvres in parliament", saying it distracted the public from the government's main goal of sorting out the economy. | Clegg warned Tory MPs off "arcane, shrill and tongue-twisting manoeuvres in parliament", saying it distracted the public from the government's main goal of sorting out the economy. |
| Speaking at a press conference in Westminster, Clegg told the Conservatives they were wasting their time trying to stir up a leadership crisis in his own party, but admitted long-term differences between the two parties over Europe would continue. | Speaking at a press conference in Westminster, Clegg told the Conservatives they were wasting their time trying to stir up a leadership crisis in his own party, but admitted long-term differences between the two parties over Europe would continue. |
| He also said he wanted to see action on a register for lobbyists at Westminster and indicated that the Tories had opposed its inclusion in the Queen's Speech. | He also said he wanted to see action on a register for lobbyists at Westminster and indicated that the Tories had opposed its inclusion in the Queen's Speech. |
| Insisting he was confident of his place in the coalition, he said: "Anyone who is wargaming about what may or may not happen in my party is wasting their time. I am going to be leader of this party up to, through and beyond the next general election. The Liberal Democrats, despite all the predictions to the contrary, have proved to be the calmest, most resilient and most united party in British politics today." | Insisting he was confident of his place in the coalition, he said: "Anyone who is wargaming about what may or may not happen in my party is wasting their time. I am going to be leader of this party up to, through and beyond the next general election. The Liberal Democrats, despite all the predictions to the contrary, have proved to be the calmest, most resilient and most united party in British politics today." |
| Cameron, pressed on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, whether the coalition would last the full five years, said: "That is absolutely my intention and has always been. To anyone who doubts what life there is 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." | Cameron, pressed on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, whether the coalition would last the full five years, said: "That is absolutely my intention and has always been. To anyone who doubts what life there is 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." |
| Clegg accepted it would be impossible to airbrush out differences within the coalition over Europe but said government ministers had a duty to show the public that it was focusing on the economy. | Clegg accepted it would be impossible to airbrush out differences within the coalition over Europe but said government ministers had a duty to show the public that it was focusing on the economy. |
| He said: "For the life of me I do not understand why people are tying themselves up in knots, changing and shifting the goalposts, given that we have given this clear legislative guarantee that there will be a referendum if there is a change in the UK relationship in the EU." | He said: "For the life of me I do not understand why people are tying themselves up in knots, changing and shifting the goalposts, given that we have given this clear legislative guarantee that there will be a referendum if there is a change in the UK relationship in the EU." |
| He said "the position in the Conservative party on Europe is shifting and shifting fast" and challenged the Tories to explain why they had arbitrarily plucked out a date for a referendum in response to "not very much at all" . | He said "the position in the Conservative party on Europe is shifting and shifting fast" and challenged the Tories to explain why they had arbitrarily plucked out a date for a referendum in response to "not very much at all" . |
| But Cameron told Today that his plan to hold an EU referendum after 2015 "is not going to change", no matter how much pressure he comes under from Europe and his own Conservative backbenchers. | But Cameron told Today that his plan to hold an EU referendum after 2015 "is not going to change", no matter how much pressure he comes under from Europe and his own Conservative backbenchers. |
| He said: "On 24 January I set out a very clear, very compelling policy for the country towards Europe, which is to renegotiate our relationship with Europe, to make the European Union more open, competitive and flexible, and then to offer the British people something they haven't had for decades – an in-out referendum. It's a very clear, very decisive policy. | He said: "On 24 January I set out a very clear, very compelling policy for the country towards Europe, which is to renegotiate our relationship with Europe, to make the European Union more open, competitive and flexible, and then to offer the British people something they haven't had for decades – an in-out referendum. It's a very clear, very decisive policy. |
| "Let me say, this policy, it doesn't matter the pressure I come under from outside the Conservative party, or in Europe, or inside the Conservative party, this policy isn't going to change. The question isn't going to change. The number of referenda isn't going to change. The date by which we hold this referendum isn't going to change. The fact is, it's the right policy for the country." | "Let me say, this policy, it doesn't matter the pressure I come under from outside the Conservative party, or in Europe, or inside the Conservative party, this policy isn't going to change. The question isn't going to change. The number of referenda isn't going to change. The date by which we hold this referendum isn't going to change. The fact is, it's the right policy for the country." |
| The PM said he had the "boldest, clearest" policy of any party leader, and said the "substance" of his plan was backed by the vast majority of the British public. | The PM said he had the "boldest, clearest" policy of any party leader, and said the "substance" of his plan was backed by the vast majority of the British public. |
| "If you take the issue of Europe, I think there is actually incredible unity and agreement, not just in the Conservative party but, I would argue, across the country. | "If you take the issue of Europe, I think there is actually incredible unity and agreement, not just in the Conservative party but, I would argue, across the country. |
| "That is the boldest, clearest, most straightforward policy on Europe that any party leader has had for 30 or 40 years. So it's that sort of leadership, that sort of clarity that's required." | "That is the boldest, clearest, most straightforward policy on Europe that any party leader has had for 30 or 40 years. So it's that sort of leadership, that sort of clarity that's required." |
| Cameron denied anybody around him regarded Conservative activists as "swivel-eyed loons", and insisted he would be a Tory volunteer if he were not an MP. Clegg also confirmed he had never heard anyone in No 10 describe Conservative activists in that way. | Cameron denied anybody around him regarded Conservative activists as "swivel-eyed loons", and insisted he would be a Tory volunteer if he were not an MP. Clegg also confirmed he had never heard anyone in No 10 describe Conservative activists in that way. |
| Cameron said: "That is simply not the case. It's not what I think. It's not what the people around me think. I think sometimes the media have a view that there is a sort of complete disconnect between the politicians who stand for election and the volunteers who support us. I think that is just completely wrong. | Cameron said: "That is simply not the case. It's not what I think. It's not what the people around me think. I think sometimes the media have a view that there is a sort of complete disconnect between the politicians who stand for election and the volunteers who support us. I think that is just completely wrong. |
| "I think of the volunteers in my own constituency – they're not just my friends and my supporters, I feel I'm one of them." | "I think of the volunteers in my own constituency – they're not just my friends and my supporters, I feel I'm one of them." |
| But Clegg questioned whether the Tories were heading right under the pressure of Ukip. He said: "The Conservatives need to decide for themselves how they play their cards in response to the rise of Ukip. My observation is that if you constantly bang on about the things that Ukip want to bang on about, do not be surprised if you help Ukip. As a centrist liberal I don't think there is any future in vacating the centre ground and going after either extremes in British politics." | But Clegg questioned whether the Tories were heading right under the pressure of Ukip. He said: "The Conservatives need to decide for themselves how they play their cards in response to the rise of Ukip. My observation is that if you constantly bang on about the things that Ukip want to bang on about, do not be surprised if you help Ukip. As a centrist liberal I don't think there is any future in vacating the centre ground and going after either extremes in British politics." |
| Cameron, too, suggested he was more willing to challenge, as opposed to ape, Ukip, telling Today that there was no future in "pulling up the drawbridge" and "looking backwards". | Cameron, too, suggested he was more willing to challenge, as opposed to ape, Ukip, telling Today that there was no future in "pulling up the drawbridge" and "looking backwards". |
| He said: "Britain does best when we engage with the world, when we're outward looking, and when we play to our strengths." | He said: "Britain does best when we engage with the world, when we're outward looking, and when we play to our strengths." |
| Clegg denied the government had run out of ideas, but said come the next general election, he would set out as red lines the issues his party would not compromise in any future coalition negotiations. | Clegg denied the government had run out of ideas, but said come the next general election, he would set out as red lines the issues his party would not compromise in any future coalition negotiations. |
| He said: "We will have a duty in our manifesto to say what are the things we will die in the trenches for and what are the policies that by definition will be dependent on circumstances if you are in another coalition and who you are in government with." | He said: "We will have a duty in our manifesto to say what are the things we will die in the trenches for and what are the policies that by definition will be dependent on circumstances if you are in another coalition and who you are in government with." |
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