This morning’s Independent reports that Nick Clegg will return from his Spanish holiday tomorrow to take charge of Britain for the next fortnight. David Cameron will remain in overall control during his family break in Cornwall, but officials have been told only to bother him on the most pressing issues, leaving the Deputy Prime Minister responsible for the daily business of government for two weeks – the first time a Liberal has run the country since David Lloyd George in 1922:
Mr Clegg will follow the Prime Minister’s lead in holding a series of meet-the-people events in which he sets out the coalition’s agenda. As well as defending its austerity measures, he plans to offer a more positive vision of its ambitions for the next five years.
On Wednesday, his 100th day in office, he will use a major speech to stress his commitment to increase social mobility. The following day during a visit to the North-east, he will turn to another of his key themes, the need to boost economic growth in the English regions.
Both Tory and Liberal Democrat officials are anxious to avoid a repeat of the Blair and Brown years, when deputies attempted to make their mark while the boss was out of the country. But Mr Clegg, who will undertake a series of television interviews, will also be keen to demonstrate to worried party activists that he is helping to dictate the coalition’s priorities.
What is noticeable is the level of trust within this coalition that enables the two party leaders to be relaxed about the other being in charge at the appropriate moment. That is a marked contrast to Cardiff Bay where the Plaid Cymru Leader and Deputy First Minister is not even permitted to take questions on behalf of Carwyn Jones.
Instead, when the First Minister is away the Business Minister steps in to be quizzed on his behalf. Labour and Plaid Cymru may be in Government together but neither appear entirely comfortable with that fact.
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“What is noticeable is the level of trust within this coalition that enables the two party leaders to be relaxed about the other being in charge at the appropriate moment. That is a marked contrast to Cardiff Bay where the Plaid Cymru Leader and Deputy First Minister is not even permitted to take questions on behalf of Carwyn Jones.”
You are 100% correct. It is essential that Plaid and Welsh Labour do not morph into the same party and that they retain their identities. That is the whole point of IWJ not filling in! Thank you for clarifying this!