The press coverage beforehand concentrated on Jeremy Browne's opposition to the idea of selling ourselves as the party of the centre and on Shirley Williams observation that Nick likes to surround himself with young people, not all of whom are particularly competent - Simon Titley's belligerent youths.
I agree with both, but Shirley Williams said something else important that the pre-broadcast coverage missed.
She said that Nick Clegg has a low opinion of the House of Lords.
I was talking to a peer in London the other week - as one does - and was told that relations between Nick and the Lib Dem group in the Lords are not good. The peers feel they are required to do a lot of hard work to improve the poor (and often illiberal) legislation the Commons sends to them and do not get the recognition from Nick that they deserve.
This poor feeling between Nick and the Lords, I was told, in part explains the poisonous progress of the Rennard affair. Many Lib Dem peers are inclined to stand by one of their own because of it.
3 comments:
Better than the first part of Steve Richards' profile, wasn't it?
This is a point I made in my own post about the Rennard situation a few weeks ago. It always pays to have good relationships with everyone because you don't know when you might need them.
And, actually, one other person who has been very critical of the Lords is Mr Farron. There is no love lost..
Post a Comment