Nick Clegg has told the Guardian he’s more anti-establishment now than he was five years ago and taken a swipe at “populist” parties such as the Scottish National party and Ukip. He also acknowledged, again, that his party had been damaged over its tuition fees U-turn and discussed an episode in which he drunkenly set fire to a rare cactus in his youth.
In the latest in a series of Guardian interviews with leaders ahead of the general election, the deputy prime minister said he wouldn’t rule out a coalition with Labour and the SNP but described the prospect as “a recipe for insomnia and political instability”.
On tuition fees and trust
Clegg says he is not the only politician to have been unable to deliver a promise, but accepts that the U-turn over tuition fees has damaged the Liberal Democrats. He reiterates that his party hasn’t had a legitimate mandate to deliver its 2010 manifesto in full and highlights that it has still managed to push for significant changes, including a pupil premium and an increase in the tax allowance.
On burning cacti
Clegg discusses the time he drunkenly set fire to a rare cactus in Munich as a schoolboy. He says he felt so remorseful he drove hundreds of miles with his mother to specialised garden centres around England to try to find a replacement cactus.
On being anti-establishment
Clegg says he is more anti-establishment now than he was five years ago, adding that you can desire change “without wanting to rip the country apart like the SNP” or “impoverish the country by pulling us out of Europe” like Ukip. He says that politics, including at Westminster and prime minister’s questions, is “a joke”.
On the possibility of a minority government
Clegg says that in a democracy the party that has the greatest amount of votes has the right to try and seek and assemble a government first. He says he won’t rule out a coalition with Labour and the SNP “if that’s what they want to try” but that he believes it’s “a recipe for insomnia and political instability”.
On women and ethnic minority representation
Agreeing that there aren’t enough women and ethnic minorities in his party, Clegg says that if things don’t change with the next election he would consider advocating “something more extreme” such as women-only lists.
“If we want to represent modern Britain we need to have modern Britain represented in us,” he says.
On Theresa May, Michael Gove and David Cameron
Clegg says that despite their disagreements he and David Cameron “have found a way of working together”. He also discusses his strained relationship with Theresa May, whom he describes as “hardworking”, and with Michael Gove, who he says is an “interesting character”.
On Tim Farron
Squashing rumours of infighting, Clegg says he and Farron are old friends and that the former Lib Dem president feels he has been misrepresented in reports suggesting he was ready to rebuild the party and had marked Clegg’s handling of the coalition as “two out of 10”.
“It’s a sign of health in a political party if you’ve got people who aspire to do well,” Clegg says.
On Top Gear and household chores
The deputy prime minister says he prefers Top Gear to The Great British Bake Off and that he’d rather “stay behind the steering wheel on his own” than to go on a road trip with Theresa May or Michael Gove. When pushed, he opts for May.
Clegg also reveals that the household chore he’s best at is “getting the kids dressed, making them breakfast and helping them out with their homework” and admits that he can’t remember the last time he cried.
