Whose referendum is it, then?
I TOOK part in The Westminster Hour on Radio 4 this evening. You can listen to it here.
Clegg's staff were quietly relieved that it was a radio, not a TV, interview
The programme was dominated by Carolyn Quinn’s interview with Nick Clegg, during which she quizzed him on the future of the coalition and its impact on the LibDems’ electoral fortunes. But one of the most interesting things he said comes at precisely 21 minutes and 30 seconds into the programme, when, in response to a question about the consequences of a defeat for AV at next year’s referendum, he says:
It’s not my referendum.
Really? Well, whose is it, then? Clegg is the minister with specific respnsibility for the legislation that will enact the referendum. Why is he trying to distance himself from it? Has he given up already?
I also can’t help thinking that there are an awful lot of LibDems who might not take too kindly to his downgrading the importance of electoral reform. Sure, it’s clearly not important in the grand scale of politics, but without it, coalition government could turn out to be a very rare beast indeed.
And that would be a real shame, wouldn’t it?