This week, Cherwell spoke exclusively to Nick Clegg about a range of issues in the run up to the election.
On attracting the student vote…
We’ve consistently defended the student community, and the simple principle that a university education should be based on ability, not ability to pay. I also think that young people are naturally inclined to question the traditional two-party system. Young men and women today have grown up with the unprecedented choice in their lives that we’ve now all become accustomed to, over where we shop, what mobile phone we have, where we travel, and so on, so the idea that there are only two choices in our politics just doesn’t sit right, at least not with a lot of the students I talk to. The old parties want people to believe that there are only two answers to every question, and that it’s just not possible to do things differently. That’s nonsense, and young people aren’t taken in by it.
On scrapping student fees…
It simply isn’t right that graduates are leaving university saddled with tens of thousands of pounds of debt. Starting out in your careers is hard enough, especially with the job market as it is. And what I find extremely worrying is that it looks increasingly likely that either a Labour or Conservative government would raise the cap on fees, which could see them rise to £7000, meaning students graduating up to £44,000 in debt within five years. That’s outrageous. The Liberal Democrats are the only party with a plan to abolish fees. You’re right that the economic crisis makes it more difficult, and we’ve been very honest about saying fees have to be phased out over the course of six years rather than scrapped immediately. But, and this is the crucial point, we can start straight away, with students going into their final years, before extending it out to everyone else. That way anyone at university in August will, under our plans, have their debt slashed by at least £3000.
On the presidential style of politics and the TV debates…
I don’t think the debates have made it more presidential particularly. The truth is that a British Prime Minister with a majority in Parliament already wields much more power than many presidents. And when a lot of people go to the polls, what they’ll be thinking about is which of their local candidates will deliver for their neighbourhood. The debates have, in my view, had a hugely positive effect on this election. It’s very natural that people want to know more about those who aspire to lead the country, and having millions of people tune in for 90 minutes at a time to watch the parties have it out on policy is good for our democracy. They’re an overdue addition to British politics, and I hope they’re here to stay.
On scrapping Trident….
We are not advocating unilateral disarmament. What we’re saying is that we no longer need to replace Trident on a like-for-like basis. It’s a Cold War missile system, designed to flatten Moscow at the touch of a button, that no longer best protects us against modern threats and that will cost £100bn over the course of its lifetime. There are plenty of alternatives that allow us to retain a nuclear capability but that also free up the resources we need to provide our troops in Afghanistan with the equipment they need. Plenty of military experts agree we need to look at this again, yet Labour and the Conservatives want to exclude Trident from the next Strategic Defence Review. It’s wrongheaded to exclude our most expensive weapons system from that review. We will make sure alternatives are properly considered.
On ‘Cleggism’…
It’s not a word I’ve come across before, I think you’re the first to coin it! My basic philosophy is about power; how it has to be fairly dispersed. I wrote a pamphlet called The Liberal Moment last October which goes into some depth if you’re interested. But in short: in our society it is clear that power – and thereby freedom – is unfairly distributed. Power has its own gravitational pull; it accumulates among elites – political, social and corporate – and they each exercise that power in their own interests, acting against the interests of, and thereby diminishing the freedom of, others. The job of a liberal government is to disperse power fairly to all. That’s why at this election we’re fighting for ordinary people against the tyranny of vested interests. Our priorities – giving children and young people the best start in life, introducing fair taxes, creating jobs that last, and bringing in honest, decent politics – are all about opening up opportunities to everyone.
On coalitions, and the importance of electoral reform…
I think electoral reform is urgent, and given the events of the last few weeks it’s astonishing that there’s anyone left who doesn’t agree. We’ve seen some crazy predictions of what’s going to happen at this election, everything from another majority government with less than a third of the public supporting it, to the party which comes third getting more seats than anyone else! If no party wins a majority on Thursday, I think it’s an instruction from voters to politicians to talk to each other. What people can be sure of is that the priorities I set out in our manifesto – fair taxes, a fair start for children at school, economic reform and political renewal – are what the Liberal Democrats will be fighting to deliver whatever happens.
