THE TELEGRAPH: Nick Clegg has delivered his most outspoken attack on Gordon Brown, calling him “a desperate politician” as he signalled that he would find it difficult to do a deal with the Prime Minister in a hung parliament.
Labour has become increasingly keen to ally itself with the Liberal Democrats as its chances of victory fade.
But in his first newspaper interview since his party’s shock rise in the opinion polls, Mr Clegg told The Daily Telegraph that Labour had failed to deliver in its 13 years in charge and could not be trusted now.
He said: “Brown systematically blocked, and personally blocked, political reform. I think he is a desperate politician and I just do not believe him.” He added: “And do I think Labour delivered fairness? No. Do I think the Labour Party in its heart has a faith in civil liberties? No. Do I think they’ve delivered political reform? No. They are clutching at straws.”
The highly personal attack on Mr Brown’s integrity will lead to further speculation that the price for any deal with Labour would be that it ditches Mr Brown as leader. >>> Andrew Porter, Political Editor | Tuesday, April 21, 2010
TIMES ONLINE: Britain should be prepared to scrap its nuclear deterrent, a group of generals write in The Times today, pushing the future of Trident to the forefront of the election.
The generals say that the next government would threaten both frontline Forces and global disarmament talks unless it considers different ways of spending the £80 billion required to replace the fleet of submarines.
Their intervention, although nonpolitical, offers timely support for Nick Clegg, who goes into tomorrow night’s foreign affairs debate with Gordon Brown and David Cameron as the only party leader arguing against a like-for-like replacement. >>> Deborah Haynes and Roland Watson | Wednesday, April 21, 2010
TIMES ONLINE: Money spent on Trident can’t go on troops: Four former senior military commanders ask if our nuclear deterrent is value for money >>> Edwin Bramall, David Ramsbotham, Hugh Beach, Patrick Cordingley | Wednesday, April 21, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH – BLOG: With Thursday night’s foreign policy debate looming, it’s important to take a look at Nick Clegg’s willingness to vilify Israel, and his inclination towards bashing the Israelis over the head. I’ve written about Clegg’s distinctly anti-American views and his complete disregard for the NATO alliance, but his policies towards Israel deserve attention as well.
Israel is a close ally of both Great Britain and the United States, the only full democracy in the Middle East along with Iraq, and is under constant fire from Iranian and Syrian-backed terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hizbollah. Its very existence is threatened by the rise of a nuclear-armed Iran, which has malevolently warned of another Holocaust. Yet, the leader of the Liberal Democrats still thinks it’s necessary to demonise Israel, one of our only friends in the region. He’s doing everything but directly call Gaza an Israeli-administered concentration camp.
In his statements, Clegg has drawn a dangerous and false parallel between the Israelis and Islamist terrorist groups. For example he wrote a piece for The Guardian in January 2009 entitled “We Must Stop Arming Israel” condemning Israel’s response to Hamas attacks, and in effect calling for the EU to isolate and even sanction Israel:
Brown must stop sitting on his hands. He must condemn unambiguously Israel’s tactics, just as he has rightly condemned Hamas’s rocket attacks. Then he must lead the EU into using its economic and diplomatic leverage in the region to broker peace. The EU is by far Israel’s biggest export market, and by far the biggest donor to the Palestinians. It must immediately suspend the proposed new cooperation agreement with Israel until things change in Gaza, and apply tough conditions on any long-term assistance to the Palestinian community.Read on and comment >>> Nile Gardiner | Wednesday, April 21, 2010
