They Blog For You

SOMEONE, somewhere is not telling the truth. Can you guess who, children?

Tonight, the BBC is screening Nick Robinson’s documentary on the coalition negotiations, Five Days That Changed Britain (he obviously chose to reject my suggested alternative title of Five Days in May, but there we are). Writing in his Newsnight blog today. Michael Crick has whetted our appetities by speculating on the rumoured offer to the LibDems, by Labour, of a switch to the Alternative Vote (AV) without a referendum.

On 7 June, Nick Clegg was asked specifically about this in the Commons:

Dr Julian Lewis: I thank the Deputy Prime Minister for giving way. He will have heard the answer that the right hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr Straw) gave when I asked him whether it had been the case that the outgoing Labour Prime Minister had offered, during the coalition negotiations, to ram through the alternative vote without a referendum. I am not giving away any trade secrets when I say that Conservative MPs were told that that was the case. The Deputy Prime Minister is in a position to know. Were the Liberal Democrats offered by the Labour party the alternative vote without a referendum? Can he set the matter to rest?

The Deputy Prime Minister: The answer is no. The right hon. Member for Blackburn (Mr Straw) was right. That was not offered by the Labour party in those discussions. The hon. Member for New Forest East (Dr Lewis) is right-I should know whether it was offered or not.

So, fairly unequivocal, then, eh? It was not offered by the Labour party in those discussions.

But (and you knew there was going to be a “but”, didn’t you?) Crick quotes this interesting morsel from tonight’s programme:

Robinson to Clegg: “But, but if Conservative MPs think they’re being mislead into backing a referendum because you told David Cameron: look we can get this changed without one, you’re saying that’s wrong?”

Clegg: “The perception, which I think was accurate, was discussions are out and it might have been an offer that might have been made and might have been considered. In answer to your direct question was it ever formally made to me, no it wasn’t formally made to me.”

That is absolutely not what Clegg told the Commons afterwards. He said the offer simply had not been made by Labour. So, did Clegg lie to Nick Robinson or to the Commons? Did he imply to Cameron that AV without a referendum was being offered by Labour? If not, why did Cameron then tell his MPs it was? Did Clegg lie to Cameron to try to get a deal? Or did Cameron deliberately lie to his own MPs?

Five Days That Changed Britain is on BBC tonight at 9.00 pm.