Clegg relaunches coalition – but forgets the Tories
By politics.co.uk staff
Nick Clegg has come up with an innovative variation on the tried-and-tested coalition relaunch template – by ignoring the Conservatives altogether.
The deputy prime minister will launch a new campaign seeking to create more jobs via the Liberal Democrats' actions in government, ignoring the contributions of the Tories altogether.
The new effort is a bid to flag up the Lib Dems' work in government among voters who give the Conservatives all the credit for the coalition's achievements and blame the Lib Dems for all its failures.
"Britain is creating jobs," Clegg insisted.
"I know it doesn't always feel like it – a lot of families are still feeling the pinch.
"But since the Liberal Democrats came into government in 2010, we've helped British businesses create more than a million jobs. Now we want to help them create a million more."
Lib Dems across the country will take part in an 'action day' tomorrow to highlight the work they are doing to create jobs in Britain's struggling economy.
A major apprenticeship drive will see the coalition's junior party pushing hard to double the number of companies offering apprenticeships from 100,000 to 200,000.
"It's an old idea to help build a new economy," Clegg added.
"Not only do apprenticeships create new opportunities for young men and women, but companies get the loyal and capable staff they need to compete and expand.
"It works for all kinds of industries – from construction to catering; from advanced engineering to accounting."
The campaigning drive is a well-timed move from the party leadership, as it will help distract attention from the Morrissey report into the party's sexual harassment problems launched yesterday.
The independent inquiry found that the failure to properly handle sexual harassment allegations was the result of the party's "haphazard" organisation structures, rather than through any "malicious" attempt at a cover-up.
