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| Nick Clegg has 'no regrets' over coalition with Tories | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Nick Clegg has insisted he has "no regrets" about entering coalition with the Conservatives in 2010. | |
| But he told LBC radio he fears David Cameron is undoing much of what his party achieved in coalition. | |
| He also spoke of his shock and disbelief at the exit poll on election night in his first interview since standing down as leader. | |
| He said the rise of the SNP had driven Lib Dem voters to vote Tory to prevent a Labour/SNP government. | |
| But he admitted he had been "blindsided" by the result, which saw the Lib Dems reduced from 56 MPs to just eight. | |
| The former deputy prime minister denied he had destroyed his party, insisting it would bounce back, but said they had paid the price for "putting country before party" in 2010. | |
| 'Distraught' | |
| Asked what the party had achieved, he said: "We had a strong and stable government, anchored in the centre ground for five years at a time of outright economic peril." | |
| But he was concerned the Conservatives were now pursuing an "illiberal, punitive" approach to issue like child poverty. | |
| Mr Clegg had to be persuaded to carry on as Lib Dem leader a full 12 months before the general election, according to The Guardian. | |
| He was ready to quit after heavy losses in local and European elections. | He was ready to quit after heavy losses in local and European elections. |
| But was talked in to staying on by Lord Ashdown and Tim Farron, who is now bidding to be the party's next leader. | But was talked in to staying on by Lord Ashdown and Tim Farron, who is now bidding to be the party's next leader. |
| Mr Clegg is returning to the media spotlight after quitting in the wake of the party's catastrophic general election. | Mr Clegg is returning to the media spotlight after quitting in the wake of the party's catastrophic general election. |
| Mr Farron told The Guardian that when he spoke to Mr Clegg after the 2014 local and European polls he found him "just distraught about everything" and "he felt personally every single loss". | Mr Farron told The Guardian that when he spoke to Mr Clegg after the 2014 local and European polls he found him "just distraught about everything" and "he felt personally every single loss". |
| "I just thought this could end up in a bloodbath and we're far better off sticking with the captain who has done nothing to deserve this," he said. | "I just thought this could end up in a bloodbath and we're far better off sticking with the captain who has done nothing to deserve this," he said. |
| Lord Ashdown said Mr Clegg had quickly bounced back from the setback. | Lord Ashdown said Mr Clegg had quickly bounced back from the setback. |
| "It was astonishing the speed from which he moved from the darkest of the dark nights of the soul to utterly on form, utterly clear about what he was doing," he said. | "It was astonishing the speed from which he moved from the darkest of the dark nights of the soul to utterly on form, utterly clear about what he was doing," he said. |