Clegg speaks
It wasn’t, to be frank, the most powerful oratory I’ve heard.
Indeed, I was moved on our to call it insipid - with the caveat that I had perhaps simply heard too many conference speeches.
But still as federal UK party leader was substantive.
He had a big immediate message and, for me, an intriguing subplot of things to come.
The big message? That the LibDems want maximum devolution to emerge from the proposed Commission/review backed by his own party, the Tories and, of course, the UK governing Labour Party.
As with , it’s no to Gordon Brown’s two way street.
Instead, the LibDems want one way traffic: more powers to Holyrood, then on down the road to local communities.
The intriguing subplot? Mr Clegg’s speech and Mr Stephen’s interview were full of vitriol about their rivals - but particularly rich in suggestions that Labour’s time was by, that we are entering a post-Labour era.
That could mean the Lib Dems are about to govern the world. Or it could mean that they are positioning themselves for a Westminster Parliament where the Tories are in power - or, even more intriguingly, close to majority power.
That means, in the Commission/review, they aren’t just bargaining with Labour.
They are seeking constitutional solutions which survive a change of government at Westminster.
I'm 
Comments
Any chance of the LibDems eventually teaming up with the SNP in government? That is surely the next question. And it would make more sense, if they would just be prepared to adopt a more tolerant policy vis-Ã -vis the prospect of independence. A progressive, pro-self-government coalition would be a healthy thing for Scotland and, I'm sure, for the LibDems themselves.
With the last published Westminster Scottish voting intention poll (by YouGov in January, for the Scottish Daily Express, sample size: 1343) finding the Lib Dems at a paltry 12%, approximately half of their vote at the UK general election in 2005, it looks like it is actually the Scottish Liberal Democrats who's "time is by", and that we are entering a "post-Liberal Democrat era".
Labour's vote is holding up surprisingly well in Westminster voting intention polls, although less well in Holyrood polls or in local council by elections. Labour actually got 36% in that January YouGov poll, down only 3% from 2005 (within the margin of error). For the sake of completeness, the SNP were measured at 30% (+12%), and the Conservatives at 18% (+2%).
Of all the major political parties it is actually the Liberal Democrats who are in the biggest mess, despite nearly all the bad headlines focusing on Labour.
Mr Dickson, you are using the wrong figures. You use the 12 % of the Scottish Libdems with the Labour figures of the whole UK of 36 %.
Can you please compare the right figures ? Libdems in the whole UK : between 17 and 21 % ??? And compare that with Labour's 36% ?
Thanks a lot, laboursupporter !
brian,lib-dems a dying bread as well
they are not liberal and certainly not democratic!!!they only want to form coalation with unionists,i am glad they did not join snp.they are hypocrits dont mind having referendum
for the eu.but not scotland,what are they scared off? they will get their fingers burned getting into bed
with that unholy lot.
What has 'bread' got to do with it?
Clegg is a joke, but Nicol Stephen is an absolute punch-line.
In reply to Desmet Michel:
No, I am not comparing apples with pears; I am comparing apples with apples.
The Westminster voting intention poll in January 2008, in which Labour were measured at 36% and the Liberal Democrats at 12% was Scotland-only. If you do not believe me, please surf in to YouGov's website, where they keep a comprehensive archive of their published polls. (It is the one listed under 01/17/2008 - Scottish Political Issues - Scottish Daily Express.)
The appalling level of support for the Scottish Liberal Democrats has actually been found in every Scottish opinion poll since the beginning of 2006. If you do not believe me, please check the archive of Scottish polls kept by Anthony Wells at UK Polling Report. And lest you accuse me of using biased sources: Mr Wells is an English Tory!