Nicholas William Peter Clegg

Nick Clegg

Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967), known as Nick Clegg, is the British Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam and, since 18 December 2007, leader of the Liberal Democrats. He was appointed to the Privy Council on 30 January 2008 and affirmed his membership on 12 March 2008.

Early life

Clegg was born in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire in 1967, the third of four children. His half-Russian father, Nicholas, was a banker, and is chairman of The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation. His great-great-grandfather, the Russian nobleman Ignaty Zakrevsky, was Attorney General of Senate in Imperial Russia. His great-great aunt was the writer Baroness Moura Budberg.

His Dutch mother Hermance van den Wall Bake was a teacher of children with special educational needs who, as a girl had been interned with her family by the Japanese in Batavia (Jakarta) in the Dutch East Indies. He was brought up bilingually in Dutch and English and also speaks French, German and Spanish.

Education

Clegg was educated at Caldicott in South Buckinghamshire, then Westminster school in London. As a 16-year-old exchange student in Munich, he performed community service for a minor case of criminal damage: he and a friend burned some cacti belonging to a professor, something which he said he was "not proud" of, when it re-emerged during his time as Lib Dem Home Affairs spokesman.

He attended Robinson College, Cambridge, after spending a gap year as a ski instructor in Austria and as an office junior in a Helsinki bank. At Cambridge, Clegg studied Archaeology and Anthropology. He was active in the student theatre, captain of the college tennis team, and campaigned for Survival International, protecting the rights of threatened indigenous peoples.

After university he was awarded a scholarship to study at the University of Minnesota for a year, where he wrote a thesis on the political philosophy of the Deep Green movement. He then moved to New York, where he worked as an intern under Christopher Hitchens at The Nation, a left wing magazine.

Clegg next moved to Brussels, where he worked for six months as a trainee in the G24 Co-ordination Unit, which delivered aid to the countries of the former Soviet Union. After the internship he took a second Master's degree at the College of Europe in Bruges, where he met his wife, Miriam Gonzalez Durantez, whose father, José Antonio Gonzalez Caviedes, was a member of the Spanish Senate representing the Partido Popular.

Career before politics

In 1993, Clegg won the Financial Times' David Thomas Prize, set up in memory of David Thomas, an FT journalist killed on assignment in Kuwait in 1991. He was the first recipient and was sent to Hungary, where he wrote articles about the mass privatisation of industries in the former communist bloc.

In April 1994 he took up a post at the European Commission, working in the TACIS aid programme to the former Soviet Union. For two years he was responsible for developing direct aid programmes, worth €50 million, in central Asia and the Caucasus. He was involved in negotiations with Russia on airline overflight rights, and launched a conference in Tashkent in 1993 that founded TRACECA – the Transport Corridor for Europe, the Caucasus and Asia, otherwise known as the 'New Silk Road'. Vice President and Trade Commissioner Leon Brittan then offered Clegg a job in his private office, as a European Union policy adviser and speech writer. As part of this role, Clegg was in charge of the EC negotiating team on Chinese and Russian accession talks to the World Trade Organisation.

Member of the European Parliament (1999-2004)

Clegg was selected as the lead Liberal Democrat euro-candidate for the East Midlands in 1998, and was first tipped as a politician to watch by Paddy Ashdown in 1999 in the Nottingham Evening Post.

On his election in 1999, he was the first Liberal parliamentarian elected in the East Midlands since Ernest Pickering was elected MP for Leicester West in 1931, and was credited with helping to significantly boost the Liberal Democrat poll rating in the region in the six months after his election.

Clegg worked extensively during his time as an MEP to support the party in the region, not least in Chesterfield where Paul Holmes was elected as MP in 2001. He helped persuade Conservative MEP Bill Newton Dunn to defect to the Liberal Democrats; Newton Dunn subsequently succeeded him as MEP for the East Midlands.

As an MEP, Clegg co-founded the Campaign for Parliamentary Reform, which led calls for reforms to expenses, transparency and accountability in the European Parliament. He was made Trade and Industry spokesman for the European Liberal Democrat and Reform group (ELDR), and led on legislation for "local loop unbundling" – opening up telephone networks across Europe to competition. It was the fastest piece of legislation ever to go through the parliament, and the subject of an in-depth BBC Open University documentary on EU decision making.

Clegg campaigned extensively against illegal logging, and wrote a report which advocated that World Trade Organization (WTO) rules should be waived to allow an embargo on illegally logged timber. Clegg worked with fellow MEP Chris Davies on legislation to ban cosmetics tested on animals, pushing the law through despite arguments from the government that it was impossible under WTO rules.

He also worked extensively with Green MEPs on legislation to liberalise the EU's energy sector, arguing that liberalisation was a crucial tool to promote greater energy-efficiency and sustainability. Clegg took a leading role in providing Parliamentary oversight in the ongoing WTO world trade talks and attended WTO summits.

Clegg decided to leave Brussels in 2002, arguing in an article in The Guardian newspaper that the battle to persuade the public of the benefits of Europe was being fought at home, not in Brussels. Clegg's work in the East Midlands included campaigning together with the neighbouring MP Richard Allan, in the Sheffield Hallam constituency. When in November 2004, Allan announced his intention to stand down from parliament, Clegg was selected as the candidate for Sheffield Hallam. He then took up a part time teaching position in the politics department of the University of Sheffield, combining it with ongoing EU consultancy work which he took up after his departure from the European Parliament. He also gave a series of seminar lectures in the International Relations Department of the University of Cambridge.

Member of Parliament (since 2005)

Clegg worked closely with Allan throughout the campaign in Sheffield Hallam – including starring in a local pantomime – and won the seat in the 2005 general election with over 50% of the vote, and a majority of 8,682. This result represents one of the smallest swings away from a party in a seat where an existing MP has been succeeded by a newcomer (4.3%) – see Sheffield constituency article.

On his election, Clegg was promoted by leader Charles Kennedy to be the party's spokesperson on Europe, focusing on the party's preparations for an expected referendum on the European constitution and acting as deputy to Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Menzies Campbell. Clegg's ability to articulate liberal values at a very practical level quickly lent him prominence, with many already seeing him as a future Liberal Democrat leader. Following the resignation of Charles Kennedy on 7 January 2006, Clegg was touted as a possible leadership contender. He was quick to rule himself out and to declare his support for Sir Menzies Campbell, who won the ballot.

Lib Dems Home Affairs

After the 2006 leadership election, Clegg was promoted to be Home Affairs spokesperson, replacing Mark Oaten. In this job he spearheaded the Liberal Democrats' defence of civil liberties, proposing a Freedom Bill to repeal what he described as "unnecessary and illiberal legislation", campaigning against Identity Cards and the retention of innocent people's DNA, and arguing against excessive counter-terrorism legislation. He has campaigned for prison reform, a liberal approach to immigration, and defended the Human Rights Act against ongoing attacks from across the political spectrum. In January 2007, Clegg launched the 'We Can Cut Crime!' campaign, "proposing real action at a national level and acting to cut crime where the Liberal Democrats are in power locally".

In Sheffield, Clegg has campaigned on local transport, recycling, housing development and health. He has close links with both of the city's universities and has opposed the closure of local services including fire stations and post offices. Before becoming leader he also served as treasurer and secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group on National Parks, a particular interest given that his constituency includes part of the Peak District National Park.

Publications and policy

Clegg has written extensively, publishing and contributing to a large number of pamphlets and books. With Professor Richard Grayson he wrote a book in 2002 about the importance of devolution in secondary education systems, based on comparative research across Europe. The final conclusions included the idea of pupil premiums so that children from poorer backgrounds receive the additional resources their educational needs require.

He wrote a controversial pamphlet for the Centre for European Reform advocating devolution and evolution of the European Union, and contributed to the 2004 Orange Book, where he offered market liberal solutions for reform of European institutions. He also co-authored a pamphlet with Duncan Brack arguing for a wholesale reform of world trade rules to allow room for a greater emphasis on development, internationally binding environmental treaties, and parliamentary democracy within the WTO system.

Clegg chaired a policy working group for the Liberal Democrats on the Third Age in 2004, which focused on the importance of ending the cliff-edge of retirement and providing greater opportunities for older people to remain active beyond retirement. The group developed initial proposals on transforming post offices to help them survive as community hubs, in particular for older people. He served on Charles Kennedy's policy review, 'Meeting the Challenge', and the 'It's About Freedom' working parties. Clegg also wrote a fortnightly column for Guardian Unlimited for four years while serving as an MEP.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats (since 2007)

Election to the leadership

Since his election to parliament, Clegg was consistently mentioned as a potential candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Democrats. Although he did not stand in the Liberal Democrats leadership election, 2006, he admitted on 18 September 2007 that he "probably would" stand for the leadership upon the retirement of Sir Menzies Campbell, an event which took place on 15 October 2007. Clegg's comments were seen by media commentators as a swipe against Campbell's leadership, and he was rebuked by other senior Liberal Democrats including potential leadership rival Chris Huhne.

After the resignation of Campbell, Clegg was regarded by much of the media as front-runner in the leadership election. The BBC's Political Editor Nick Robinson stated the election would be a two-horse race between Clegg and Huhne. On Friday 19 October 2007, Clegg launched his bid to become leader of the Liberal Democrats. The campaign was largely good-natured, with Clegg and Huhne clashing over Trident but largely in agreement on many other issues. It was announced on 18 December that he had won.

Frontbench Team appointments

Clegg appointed erstwhile leadership rival, Chris Huhne, as his replacement as Home Affairs spokesperson. Following his strong performances as acting party leader, Vincent Cable was retained as the main Treasury spokesperson. Media commentators have noted that the Clegg-Huhne-Cable triumvirate provides the Liberal Democrats with an effective political team for the coming years. Nick Clegg has experienced problems over the EU treaty when a number of his frontbench failed to vote with the whipping arrangements.

Beliefs

In his acceptance speech upon winning the leadership contest, Clegg declared himself to be "a liberal by temperament, by instinct and by upbringing" and that he believes "Britain [is] a place of tolerance and pluralism". He declared his priorities as: defending civil liberties; devolving the running of public services to parents, pupils and patients; and protecting the environment. In an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live on the morning after his election to the leadership, Clegg stated that he does not believe in God.

He recently supported "liberal interventionism", arguing that the "unjustified invasion of Iraq" should not weaken support for this. He expressed that there should be more emphasis on a more humanitarian foreign policy.

Clegg was also a member of the Cambridge University Conservative Association .

Policies

Clegg's platform for the Liberal Democrats is to modernise the party and bring it back in line with the Liberalism of old, moving slightly away from Social Democracy. Since becoming leader he has called for more choice for patients stuck on waiting lists in the NHS, giving them the option to go private and to be funded by the NHS if they wish; a huge tax slash across the board in order to put more money back into the pockets of people, compulsory English lessons for all long-term immigrants, better action on the environment, the renewal of Britain's Trident missile defence system in 2010, fixed terms for every parliament, devolving more power to local councils and giving constituents the power to fire their MP if they let them down, a slimming of government across the board and an end to over centralisation in London.

Standing in the polls

Since becoming leader, polls have generally been favourable to Clegg, showing his party averaging out at 20% in most polls, an improvement over poll numbers in the final days of Menzies Campbell's leadership, which dropped to as low as 11%.

Following his conference speech of 2008, a focus group of floating voters carried out by Frank Luntz for BBC2's Newsnight showed they viewed Clegg more favourably than Gordon Brown or David Cameron.

Controversies and criticisms

Charles Kennedy's resignation

Clegg was a signatory to the letter circulated by Vincent Cable prior to Charles Kennedy's resignation as leader of the Liberal Democrats, which stated his opposition to working under Kennedy's continued leadership. He subsequently backed Sir Menzies Campbell for the leadership, ahead of Clegg's erstwhile fellow MEP and Orange Book contributor Chris Huhne. Some commentators claim that Clegg's support was due to a hope that he would then inherit the leadership when Campbell's age eventually forced him to retire – the so-called rule that "young cardinals elect old popes".

Sir Menzies Campbell's resignation

The Liberal Democrat party conference in 2007 came during a period of increased media speculation about Sir Menzies Campbell's leadership. Clegg therefore caused a degree of controversy when he admitted his leadership ambitions to journalists at a fringe event, for which he was rebuked by some of his frontbench colleagues. This followed a report that Clegg had failed to hide his disloyalty to Sir Menzies Campbell's leadership.

GQ interview

In March 2008 GQ magazine ran with an interview conducted by Piers Morgan in which Clegg admitted to sleeping with "no more than 30" women. Amanda Platell in the Daily Mail found Clegg's comments hypocritical. Senior Lib Dem MPs defended his comments; Lembit Opik said it showed "you can be a human being and a party leader", and Norman Lamb that "Nick tried to be absolutely straight in everything that he does, and that might sometimes get him into trouble but he will build a reputation for being honest and straightforward.