WELL , so called straight talking Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg didn't exactly set the world alight with his keynote liberal conference speech this afternoon. It was fluffy, and in parts, a pie-in-the-sky dream about what a Liberal cabinet could or would do in power on their first days, with Cable and co driving through tax reform. If you want to win a few future work colleagues, just give them their job descriptions and what they will be doing when they get the role (or in this case, never get the role of cabinet minister)
He spent a lot of the time attacking the Tories, labeling them as 'fake.' But, hey this is conference season, so it's not likely to be anything other than spin and an attempt to wow the Party faithful into thinking that what they are doing campaign wise is worthwhile.
In parts, it felt like this was a Vince the Cable speech with a man called Clegg speaking it.
Three main points came out of his speech if you didn't already know:
He said the Tories were 'fake,' and that they were hypocritical on issues such as Europe.
He was serious about tax reform. No-one earning under £10,000 would be taxed. Those 'mansion taxes' were here to stay. He made the point that if you've done well, all credit to you, but you would still have to pay your wack in tax. And to the tax dodgers he made it clear there was no place to hide. Certainly not in Switzerland, anyway.
But the real repetitive slogan that stuck in my mind was 'REAL CHANGE' in Britain under a Liberal Party. PLENTY detected a Cameroon politics somewhere in there.
Clegg's an articulate guy, but unfortunately, if he sticks to the tax theme of penalising the rich, and let's face it, that's what they are doing with the mansion tax policy, then they will certainly pee off a few hard working wealth creators, who will prefer the PR politics of the Cameroons.
Can Clegg really afford to alienate the middle classes, just to win some votes off the lower?QUOTE OF THE DAY: NICK CLEGG: "The Tories want to inherit power, I want to earn it."
Karen Hatter is The-Latest's America correspondent. A community activist and retired United States government employee, she has gained first-hand knowledge and experience of the concerns and challenges faced by Americans. She writes about a variety of social issues, providing depth, texture and an alternative, progressive perspective on current affairs. Karen has been a contributor to this site since 2008.
Tola Ositelu has been a freelance writer and blogger for almost a decade. She’s interested in arts, culture and social commentary. Currently based at the EU in Brussels, she studied law and has a masters in sociocultural linguistics. Tola is a lifelong learner as well as a music, literature and travel enthusiast. She describes herself as a novice political activist.
Simone Mendez is a creative writing graduate currently living in Birmingham. She is a book lover and equally enjoys reading and writing poetry. Simone also gains a lot of satisfaction from writing about culture and current affairs. She hopes to produce her own plays in the future.
Donnacha DeLong is an online journalist and freelance writer. He has been a senior site editor of Amnesty International’s global website amnesty.org and played a key role in developing the organisation's use of social media for campaigning and reporting purposes. Donnacha is a past President of the National Union of Journalists and is a current member of the union’s National Executive Committee.
Richard Lance Keeble, Professor of Journalism at Lincoln University and Visiting Professor at Liverpool Hope University, has written or edited 36 books. In 2011, he gained a National Teaching Fellowship, the highest award for UK teachers, and in 2014 was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association for Journalism Education. Richard jointly edits Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics and writes on a range of subjects including war/peace, journalism and George Orwell.
Lara Platman is a journalist and photographer with a passion for all things eccentric, fast and theatrical. This includes dance, motor cars, country life and polo. Her work has featured in a variety of top publications. She is a regular columnist for The-Latest and has her own site photofeature.co.uk that showcases her creative output.
Thomas L. Blair is a sociologist and political blogger on the Chronicleworld 'for creative renewal in Black Britain and Afro-Europe'. His work is honoured in the British Library's archive of "social, historic and culturally significant web-based material from the UK domain". He won top prize in the blogging competition on The-Latest.
Sumantra Maitra is a freelance journalist from Mumbai, India. He is a correspondent for All Sports magazine, and a foreign affairs blogger for the Washington Examiner. He has written articles for news website Merinews.com and other regional publications. Sumantra runs a blog at DailyWorldWatch.wordpress.com. He provided exclusive eyewitness reports for The-Latest on the Mumbai bombings of 2008.
Brian Usher is photography consultant for The-Latest.Com. He is a highly experienced editorial and commercial photographer whose work has been published throughout the world, appearing in many well known magazines and newspapers. Brian has featured in several books and has been a writer for the Royal Photographic Society magazine.
Heidi Kingstone has spent time in Afghanistan reporting for a number of publications. Her work has appeared in the Financial Times, The Spectator, The Sunday Times and other international journals. She has also reported from places like Iraq, Rwanda, Lebanon, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kenya. Heidi is The-Latest's Editor at large.
Deborah Hobson is a freelance writer and Deputy Editor of The-Latest.Com. She specialises in human interest, celebrity and lifestyle features. Deborah has written scoops for The-Latest, using the Freedom of Information Act to uncover official secrets the public have a right to know about. She looks after contributors and if you would like to become one contact her: contribsed@the-latest.com
WELL , so called straight talking Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg didn't exactly set the world alight with his keynote liberal conference speech this afternoon. It was fluffy, and in parts, a pie-in-the-sky dream about what a Liberal cabinet could or would do in power on their first days, with Cable and co driving through tax reform. If you want to win a few future work colleagues, just give them their job descriptions and what they will be doing when they get the role (or in this case, never get the role of cabinet minister)
He spent a lot of the time attacking the Tories, labeling them as 'fake.' But, hey this is conference season, so it's not likely to be anything other than spin and an attempt to wow the Party faithful into thinking that what they are doing campaign wise is worthwhile.
In parts, it felt like this was a Vince the Cable speech with a man called Clegg speaking it.
Three main points came out of his speech if you didn't already know:
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=c3216ea2-4677-4c1b-acfa-0a472550b256)
Thomas L. Blair is a sociologist and political blogger on the Chronicleworld 'for creative renewal in Black Britain and Afro-Europe'. His work is honoured in the British Library's archive of "social, historic and culturally significant web-based material from the UK domain". He won top prize in the blogging competition on The-Latest.
Sumantra Maitra is a freelance journalist from Mumbai, India. He is a correspondent for All Sports magazine, and a foreign affairs blogger for the Washington Examiner. He has written articles for news website Merinews.com and other regional publications. Sumantra runs a blog at DailyWorldWatch.wordpress.com. He provided exclusive eyewitness reports for The-Latest on the Mumbai bombings of 2008.
Brian Usher is photography consultant for The-Latest.Com. He is a highly experienced editorial and commercial photographer whose work has been published throughout the world, appearing in many well known magazines and newspapers. Brian has featured in several books and has been a writer for the Royal Photographic Society magazine.
Heidi Kingstone has spent time in Afghanistan reporting for a number of publications. Her work has appeared in the Financial Times, The Spectator, The Sunday Times and other international journals. She has also reported from places like Iraq, Rwanda, Lebanon, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kenya. Heidi is The-Latest's Editor at large.
latest comments