Cleggy Cleggy Cleggy, out out out!
So you once voteld Liberal Democrat and now you've got a hammer and sickle on your lapel.
How do you feel looking back about the fact you did it?
I think it's a bit of an embarrassment when you do admit this to people but, er, you know,
we were lied to.
The Lib Dems, Nick Clegg in particular, they betrayed a generation and as bitter as that
was, it was one of the most valuable lessons that I've ever learnt.
We've come to a demonstration by a group who call themselves the Free University of Sheffield.
Who's Uni? Our Uni!
We're heading for the Vice Chancellor's office apparently. It's quite exciting.
I never did this sort of caper when I was a student.
Pay your staff the living wage!
They're in favour of the living wage for university staff and against tuition fees, the marketisation
of higher education, neoliberalism in general and the man who, for them, symbolises all
of that: local MP, Nick Clegg.
The large student population of Sheffield is a factor in what could be the biggest shock
of the election...
The Deputy Prime Minister losing his seat.
Ah, hear we are.
Hello.
How are you?
How are you, you alright?
So when you're in opposition people project anything on to you.
And then you're in government and suddenly people get disappointed.
I mean, you've sort of lived that really for four or five years.
Yes, of course. Yes.
How's it been?
Well, it's... it's... it's... as you know, I mean, look, don't go into politics if all
you want to be is, sort of, perpetually liked by everybody. It's just... I mean, it's not
a... it's not a sort of flighty beauty contest and it's not for the faint-hearted.
What do we want? A living wage!
When do we want it? Now!
Everyone's now sitting down for a meeting in, to use the correct terminology, a non-hierarchical,
directly democatic space.
As the election approaches, Sheffield seems to be alive with debate. This one soon turns
to what to do about Clegg.
Nick Clegg's pretty much, like, destroyed as a political character. But, like, I think
we could put the nail in the coffin.
I don't know if it helps to just focus on Nick Clegg.
Like, Labour introduced tuition fees and the fact is, like, you can get Nick Clegg out,
it's a good symbolic thing but the next person that's in there is just going to oppress you
in the same way.
If we want a figure to focus on and actually say "think about it, think about the difference
that politics can make in your life, well look at this man and look at how much he has
done to wrong us and we can get rid of him." And we need to take that message to students
and we need to take that to the community.
Five years ago we doorstepped this office the day after Clegg had wiped the floor with
the other leaders in the first big TV debate.
His long-standing election agent came out to share the good vibes.
Frankly, we're not surprised. I mean, we have enormous faith in Nick. He's obviously, you
know, a true believer in democracy. I mean, that sounds a bit pious but actually it's a fact.
So are you excited?
Oh yes, of course! Yes.
The revolution might be coming.
Er... yes. Yes, well why not?
You're too level-headed you Liberal Democrats.
Ha ha ha!
Alan has now retired as Clegg's election agent but he's still helping with his local campaign.
I do remember it.
I was brimming with excitement and you were slightly more level-headed.
Ha ha.
We knew at the time we formed a coalition that it was not all going to be good.
We were all aware that it might cost us.... that we were inevitably going to get some...
some stick from the general public eventually because we'd be associated with things we
didn't like. That was inevitable but it's got a little bit further than I feared it might.
There's no point in remaining simply a party of dissent, you actually want...
It was nice though, weren't it? Weren't it nice?
Oh, it's nice yes.
There was this party there and if you didn't like the Iraq war, if you didn't like what
someone was doing to the NHS or you thought council tax ought to be reformed: whatever
your bugbear was, there were the Lib Dems. Everybody loved you then.
I know but it's.... it's not the way to pursue politics really, is it? It's not the way to
form governments and so on.
This is people who are defending their jobs and livelihood...
There's no shortage of dissent at yet another Sheffield debate... an anti-austerity hustings
in the centre of the city.
There's no Lib Dem here, but Clegg's Labour challenger, Oliver Coppard, has turned up.
Of course it would be big but that's not why we're fighting so hard here, because of the
national significance. We're fighting so hard here because this is my home. This is my home
and I feel like we've been let down and everybody I speak to on the doorstep feels the same
way too. And that's why I'm fighting hard here because I don't think it's good enough
to have an MP who can just say whatever they want and then, as soon as they get into Parliament,
do something else.
To put the battle here in context, Sheffield Hallam is the most comfortably off part of
the city. Nick Clegg has a majority of 15,000 and the seat has never gone to Labour.
Things might be getting interesting here. A couple of recent polls have put the Labour
party out in front and these Labour activists think they might be in with a shout.
Er, she voted for Clegg last time and doesn't like him.
She was a Lib Dem last time?
Last time but she certainly didn't vote for coalition, was very disillusioned about that.
Yeah, put him down as against.
I think he's a no voter. I'll put him down as a no voter I think.
Of course, the Lib Dems also have an energetic ground operation.
Do you take seriously the threat from Oliver Coppard and the Labour party?
Yeah, we've always had to fight for this seat. It's never been an easy seat for anyone.
The evidence, and I've been campaigning as well since September, is good. We're not going to lose.
You konw what the situation is here, don't you? Now, it's either us or Labour.
Is that how it is going to be?
In this constituency, in Sheffield Hallam.
Are you essentially asking him to tactically vote against the Labour party?
Of course! Of course. Until we have a fair voting system we have to have tactical voting.
In terms of it's basic values, you're the same party that I and millions of other people
voted for in 2005 and 2010.
Yeah, well of course. The values don't change. Of course they don't change.
Wouldn't a good way of assuring people, like me, that you're the same party that you were
in 2010 and 2005 be to say: "we won't go into coalition with the Tories again"?
Well no because...
"We've done it once and we won't do it again..."
No, because...see, that's where, you know, a liberal either believes in pluralism and
believes in a democracy, voters driving the decisions and choices that politicians make
or you don't.
Clearly this election for us, as the Lib Dems, is a sort of resiliance election and we'll
grow. We'll grow once we're through this. Of course we will.
As with the national campaign, for Clegg, getting through this election means avoiding
any dangerous moments, which perhaps explains a mystery around what should be the biggest
debate in Sheffield during this campaign. Hosted by the main city newspaper, it's the
only debate where Clegg will face his Labour challenger.
The location and time are a closely guarded secret and no other media are allowed in.
There is, um, a hustings, a debate-type event today where you are meeting your Labour opponent.
Mmm, yeah, I haven't met him before, yeah.
Where's it happening?
It's happening at a school in Bradfield.
Can I come?
I dunno. The Star's organising it, ask them. Yeah.
What's the... what's going to happen then?
So all the candidates are going to be there and we're all going to be asked questions.
Because Oliver Coppard told us last night that there's a hell of a lockdown on it and
he feels it's a very, sort of, unsatisfactory event.
Well... I mean, I don't organise these things. The local paper organises it, it's up to them
to decide how to do it.
Can we tag along?
If you like, I don't mind. You'll have to ask the newspaper.
Well, the supposed hottest ticket in town for a debate we're not allowed into, featuring
Nick Clegg and his Labour opponent, Oliver Coppard, is somewhere down this long and quite
terrifyingly hilly road. In the remotest corner of the constituency.
Well, this is the location for this big debate and there's just no.... civilisation sort of stops here.
So it did happen here?
We had the debate in front of 14 relatively, well, very quiet young people.
One four?
Yeah.
14 people?
14... 14 young people from the sixth form at the school.
Could any of them vote?
Erm, some of the could vote. None of them were allowed to say anything.
So less... They weren't allowed to say anything?
No, they weren't allowed to say anything. Erm, so erm... so it was a relatively limited audience.
How do you go to a debate and not say anything?
Well, they seemed to manage it. They were very well behaved and a credit to their school.
So would they ask a question and then shut up?
Erm, no the questions were asked on their behalf.
Ha ha ha!
So they won't allowed to ask the questions.
This is the example of democracy we're setting to our youth here.
Exactly. Indeed.
Welcome to what promises to be a seminal moment in the run up to the election 2015.
We're going to move to the tough questions and some of them are tough.
What are they going to do with the National Health Service?
To finish, we decided to do our bit for local democracy and play some of the debate to our
student friends.
The attainment gap, in other words, how well poorer kids to in school compared to more
affluent kids do in school, is closing for the first time in ages.
It's just like so out of touch and he doesn't know and I don't think any of them know because
these guys went to university when it was free.
Yeah, exactly.
They don't, like... statistics can't tell them what students are going through.
How many people here are going to vote for one of the three so called mainstream parties?
No. No.
None of you.
Zero. Absolutely. Yeah. Yep. Pretty much.