Clegg – a let down because he failed to deliver the ‘new politics’ he promised

One of the questions we regularly ask on the doorstep when we speak to residents in Sheffield Hallam is ‘how do you feel about Nick Clegg?’. The most common response I hear, in fact the comment I hear more than any other, is simply ‘he’s let us down’. It’s a telling phrase.

In a city with two world class universities and 50,000 students, 12,000 of whom live here in Sheffield Hallam, Nick Clegg’s support for tuition fees continues to be his defining u-turn. However, we remember just as well the cancelled £80 million loan to Forgemasters; agreed by Lord Mandleson but stopped by the Coalition. We remain very proud of our advanced manufacturing sector and our industrial heritage in this city and that decision still occupies the minds of many people who live here. The £258 million cut to Sheffield Council’s funding, compounded by the £175 million cut to our EU funding, have both served to reinforce the sense of betrayal felt by local residents.

However, possibly the most damaging thing Nick Clegg has done in government has been to undermine the hopes of the people who so passionately supported him in the run up to the last election. Here in Hallam there were queues falling out of the polling station on election night in 2010; queues of people inspired by the ‘new politics’ pushed by Clegg in the debates and through his various pledges and pronouncements. The sense of betrayal embodied within the phrase ‘he’s let us down’ is not just borne of the policy u-turns, it’s also a statement about the visceral disappointment people feel because they dared to believe politics could be different.

Our campaign in Hallam can’t simply aim to exploit that disappointment; we also have to try to repair some of that damage. We can’t and won’t make this just about our opposition to Nick Clegg or anybody else who stands here. We can’t and won’t inspire people to vote for me and the Labour Party through a negative campaign.

Over the next 7 months, we’ll continue to talk relentlessly about the positive difference that a Labour government will make to this community and this country: 1,000,000 green jobs, a real right of recall, a fairer tuition fees system, a jobs guarantee for young people, frozen energy bills, proper progress towards a living wage, 200,000 more homes every year, the list goes on…

That’s why I’m launching our ‘Better For Sheffield’ crowd fund today, asking for 500 people from Sheffield Hallam and across the country to donate just £10 to our campaign. You can donate via our website here.

While an electorate so badly bruised by politics will not vote for the source of their disappointment, that does not mean they’ll automatically vote for the person who most loudly vocalises or visibly shares their anger. Therefore any money you donate will be used to promote a positive alternative to this government, and the positive difference a Labour MP and a Labour government would make to people in Sheffield Hallam and across the country.

There is no doubt Nick Clegg is a powerful recruiting sergeant for our campaign. As a result of Nick Clegg’s unpopularity, there’s no doubt we can win here. However, I want to win in Sheffield Hallam because of the strength of our ideas, not just because of the weakness of our opponents. I would welcome your support.

 Oliver Coppard is Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Sheffield Hallam