“It’s not about you Nick!” Labour MPs lambast the Lib Dem leader’s speech

Labour MPs were roundly unimpressed by Nick Clegg’s speech at Liberal Democrat Conference this afternoon. Shadow Health Minister Jamie Reed called his speech “the last of the summer whines,” while Chris Williamson, Labour MP for Derby North, tweeted:

“The #LibDems have facilitated the most vicious rightwing govt [sic] since WW2. Let’s vote these collaborators out of office.”

The Deputy Prime Minister’s speech was longer than most, prompting columnist Owen Jones to  tweet: “The longest yawn in British political history. He also goes by the name of Nick Clegg.”  At least two prominent Labour figures switched off their TVs at the sound of Clegg’s voice. Lord Alan Sugar soon changed his mind about the speech, tweeting:

“Please I can’t bear to hear this Clegg any more. Sky for your own benefit put some Meerkat adverts on. That will be more interesting #tuningout”.

Then Michael McCann MP tweeted:

“I’m sorry as soon as Clegg starts talking in those pious tones I switch off – he has supported the Tories and all their excesses.”

Some Labour figures thought Clegg had taken a far too personal approach. Liz Kendall, Shadow Minister for Care and Older People, tweeted:

“It’s not about you Nick – you should be here to make Britain better, not “end 2-party system”.

Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna accused the Lib Dems of ‘broken promises’:

“The Lib Dems should admit the truth: they have broken their promises and backed the Tories all the way. Over and over again they have said one thing and then done another – that’s why nobody believes a word Nick Clegg and Vince Cable say.”

During the speech, Nick Clegg struggled to set out his new history-defying definition of the Lib Dems. “We’re no-one’s little brother. We have our own values and our own liberal beliefs!” he said, sounding like a petulant teenager. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the Liberal Democrats have shown how “it is possible to be a party in government without behaving like an establishment party.” Nick Clegg said the Liberal Democrats would be the ‘party of in!’ when it came to the EU, which rather recalled the ‘Knights who say ni!” He also emphasised what his party had not helped to achieve in government, prompting LabourList editor Mark Ferguson to tweet:

“#Thingscleggmighthavesaid “People asked me to stand by my manifesto commitments, but I said NO!”