Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British media executive and former politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Hallam from 2005 to 2017. An "Orange Book" liberal,[2] he has been associated with both socially liberal and economically liberal policies.[3][4] In 2018, Clegg became vice‑president of global affairs and communications at Facebook, Inc. (renamed Meta Platforms in 2021), before being promoted in 2022 to president for global affairs.

Nick Clegg
Nick Clegg's official portrait as Deputy Prime Minister in 2011
Clegg in 2011
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office
11 May 2010 – 8 May 2015
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byJohn Prescott[a]
Succeeded byDominic Raab[b]
Lord President of the Council
In office
11 May 2010 – 8 May 2015
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byThe Lord Mandelson
Succeeded byChris Grayling
Leader of the Liberal Democrats
In office
18 December 2007 – 16 July 2015
PresidentSimon Hughes
The Baroness Scott of Needham Market
Tim Farron
The Baroness Brinton
DeputyVince Cable
Simon Hughes
Malcolm Bruce
Preceded byMenzies Campbell
Succeeded byTim Farron
Member of Parliament
for Sheffield Hallam
In office
5 May 2005 – 3 May 2017
Preceded byRichard Allan
Succeeded byJared O'Mara
Member of the European Parliament
for East Midlands
In office
10 June 1999 – 10 June 2004
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byRobert Kilroy-Silk
Liberal Democrat portfolios
2006–2007Home Affairs
2016–2017Brexit
2016–2017International Trade
Personal details
Born
Nicholas William Peter Clegg

(1967-01-07) 7 January 1967 (age 57)
Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire, England
Political partyLiberal Democrats
Spouse
(m. 2000)
Children3
Residence(s)Atherton, California, US
EducationWestminster School
Alma mater
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

Born in Buckinghamshire, Clegg was educated at Westminster School before going on to study at the University of Cambridge, University of Minnesota and College of Europe. He worked as a journalist for the Financial Times before becoming a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 1999.[5] After his election to the House of Commons in 2005, Clegg served in a variety of leadership roles in the Liberal Democrats, most notably as spokesperson for Home Affairs, before being elected to succeed Menzies Campbell as party leader in 2007. During his tenure as leader, Clegg said that the Liberal Democrats had transcended left and right-wing politics and described the party as radical centrist. He supported reduced taxes, electoral reform, cuts on defence spending and an increased focus on environmental issues.

As a result of the 2010 general election, Clegg's Liberal Democrats found themselves with 57 seats in the House of Commons. The Conservative Party, which failed to receive a majority, formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, and Clegg was appointed by David Cameron to serve as his Deputy Prime Minister. In this capacity, he became the first leader of the Liberal Democrats to answer for the Prime Minister's Questions, and used his influence in the position to pass the Fixed-term Parliaments Act.[6] Controversy arose during this time surrounding the Liberal Democrats' decision to abandon their pledge to oppose increases in tuition fees, which had previously been a key issue that won the party support from students.[7]

During the party's time in coalition, the Liberal Democrats saw a significant drop in support,[8] and the 2015 general election left the party with just 8 seats, which resulted in Clegg's ousting as Deputy Prime Minister and his resignation as party leader.[9][10] In 2016, following a referendum in which a majority supported leaving the European Union, Clegg returned to the Liberal Democrat frontbench, concurrently serving as Spokesperson for Exiting the European Union and for International Trade from July 2016 to June 2017. In the 2017 general election, Clegg was defeated in his constituency of Sheffield Hallam by Jared O'Mara of the Labour Party.[11] After losing his seat, Clegg moved to the United States after he was appointed by Mark Zuckerberg as Vice-President for Global Affairs and Communications of Facebook, Inc. (now Meta Platforms, Inc.) in 2018. In February 2022, Clegg was promoted by Zuckerberg to President for Global Affairs at Meta Platforms.

Early life and family

Clegg was born in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire,[citation needed] the third of four children of Hermance van den Wall Bake and Nicholas Peter Clegg, chairman of United Trust Bank[12] and a former trustee of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation[13] (where Ken Clarke was an adviser).[14]

Clegg has one-quarter Baltic-German ancestry. His paternal grandmother, Baroness Kira von Engelhardt, of Smolensk, was a Baltic-German noblewoman, niece of Moura Budberg, adventuress and suspected double agent,[15] and the granddaughter of attorney general of the Imperial Russian Senate, Ignatiy Platonovich Zakrevsky.[16][17] Through this Russian connection, Clegg is distantly related to Michael Ignatieff, leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2008 to 2011.[18]

His English grandfather was Hugh Anthony Clegg, editor of the British Medical Journal for 35 years.[19]

Clegg's mother is Dutch[20] and was interned, along with her family, by the Japanese military in Batavia (Jakarta) in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) during the Second World War. She met Clegg's father during a visit to England in 1956,[19] and they married on 1 August 1959.

Clegg is multilingual. He speaks English, French, Dutch, German, and Spanish.[21][22][23] His background has informed his politics. He says, "There is simply not a shred of racism in me, as a person whose whole family is formed by flight from persecution, from different people in different generations. It's what I am. It's one of the reasons I am a liberal."[24] His Dutch mother instilled in him "a degree of scepticism about the entrenched class configurations in British society".[25]

Education

 
Westminster School

Clegg was educated at two private schools: at Caldicott School in Farnham Royal in South Buckinghamshire, where he was joint Head Prefect in 1980,[26][27] and later at Westminster School in Central London. As a 16-year-old exchange student in Munich, he and a friend drunkenly set fire to what he called "the leading collection of cacti in Germany".[28] When news of the incident was reported during his time as Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson, Clegg said he was "not proud" of it.[29] He was arrested and not formally charged, but performed a type of community service.[30][4]

Clegg spent a gap year working as a skiing instructor in Austria, before going on to Cambridge in 1986, where he studied Archaeology and Anthropology at Robinson College.[31] He was active in the student theatre, acting in a production of The Normal Heart under the director Sam Mendes.[31][32][33] He was also captain of his college's tennis team, and campaigned for the human rights organisation Survival International.[34] Clegg spent the summer of 1989 as an office junior in Postipankki bank in Helsinki.[35]

It has been alleged that Clegg joined the Cambridge University Conservative Association between 1986 and 1987. Clegg has maintained he has "no recollection of that whatsoever". However, Conservative MP Greg Hands has a record of CUCA members for 1986–1987, and Clegg's name appears on the list. Hands noted that "for the avoidance of any doubt, there was only one 'N Clegg' at Robinson College ... [he] is listed in the 'Robinson College Record', under 'Freshmen 1986'.[36][37][38][39] He graduated with an upper second class honours (2:1) degree in social anthropology.[40]

After university, he was awarded a scholarship to study for a year at the University of Minnesota, where he wrote a thesis on the political philosophy of the Deep Green movement. He then moved to New York City, where he worked as an intern under Christopher Hitchens at The Nation, a progressive liberal magazine, where he fact-checked Hitchens's articles.[41][42]

Clegg next moved to Brussels, where he worked alongside Guy Spier for six months as a trainee in the G24 coordination unit which delivered aid to the countries of the former Soviet Union. After the internship he studied for a master's degree at the College of Europe in Bruges, a university for European studies in Belgium, where he met his wife, Miriam González Durántez, a lawyer and the daughter of a Spanish senator.[33] Nick Clegg is an alumnus of the "Mozart Promotion" (1991–92) of the College of Europe.[43]

Careers before politics

Between 1992 and 1993, he was employed by GJW Government Relations Ltd, which lobbied on behalf of Libya.[44][45]

In 1993, Clegg won the inaugural Financial Times' David Thomas Prize, in remembrance of an FT journalist killed on assignment in Kuwait in 1991. He was later sent to Hungary, where he wrote articles about the mass privatisation of industries in the former communist bloc.[33]

He took up a post at the European Commission in April 1994, working in the TACIS aid programme to the former Soviet Union. For two years, Clegg was responsible for developing direct aid programmes in Central Asia and the Caucasus worth €50 million. He was involved in negotiations with Russia on airline overflight rights, and launched a conference in Tashkent in 1993 that founded TRACECA—an international transport programme for the development of a transport corridor for Europe, the Caucasus and Asia. Vice-President and Trade Commissioner Leon Brittan then offered him a job in his private office, as a European Union policy adviser and speechwriter. As part of this role, Clegg was in charge of the EC negotiating team on Chinese and Russian accession talks to the World Trade Organization.[33]

Written publications

Clegg has written extensively, publishing and contributing to a large number of pamphlets and books. With Dr 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.[2] He 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.

Member of the European Parliament (1999–2004)

In 1998, Clegg was selected as the lead Liberal Democrat candidate for the European Parliament in the East Midlands constituency; the following year, Paddy Ashdown was first to tip him as a politician to watch.[46] 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. Clegg helped persuade Conservative MEP Bill Newton Dunn to defect to the Liberal Democrats, with Newton Dunn subsequently succeeding him as MEP for the East Midlands.[47]

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.[48] He was made Trade and Industry spokesman for the European Liberal Democrat and Reform group (ELDR).[49] In December 2000, Nick Clegg became the Parliament's Draftsman on a complex new EU telecoms law relating to "local loop unbundling"—opening-up telephone networks across Europe to competition.[50] 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.[51]

In 2004, Clegg explained to the Select Committee on European Union that the aim of MEPs like himself, who had been active in the debate on the EU's negotiating mandate, was to obtain the right to ratify any major WTO deal entered into by the European Union.[52] That same year he chaired a policy working group for the Liberal Democrats on the Third Age, 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, for four years whilst an MEP, wrote a fortnightly column for Guardian Unlimited. One particular article in 2002 accused Gordon Brown of encouraging "condescension" towards Germany. In an article, Clegg wrote that "all nations have a cross to bear, and none more so than Germany with its memories of Nazism. But the British cross is more insidious still. A misplaced sense of superiority, sustained by delusions of grandeur and a tenacious obsession with the last war, is much harder to shake off".[53] The article was dusted down during the 2010 general election campaign when the Daily Mail interpreted the article as being a "Nazi slur on Britain" and Clegg had begun to feel the full heat of the British tabloid press following his success during the first leaders' debate.[54]

Parliamentary candidate

On leaving the European Parliament, Clegg joined political lobbying firm GPlus in April 2004 as a fifth partner:[55]

It's especially exciting to be joining GPlus at a time when Brussels is moving more and more to the centre of business concerns. With the EU taking in ten more countries and adopting a new Constitution, organisations need more than ever intelligent professional help in engaging with the EU institutions.

Clegg worked on GPlus clients including The Hertz Corporation and British Gas.[56]

In May 2003, Richard Allan, the then Liberal Democrat MP for Sheffield Hallam, announced his intention to stand down from the House of Commons. Clegg was selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate. He took up a part-time teaching position in the politics department of the University of Sheffield, combining it with ongoing EU consultancy work with GPlus. He also gave a series of seminar lectures in the international relations Department of the University of Cambridge.

Member of Parliament (2005–2017)

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.[57] 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%). 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.[58]

Following his election to parliament, 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[who?] already seeing him as a future Liberal Democrat leader. Following the resignation of Kennedy on 7 January 2006, Clegg was touted as a possible leadership contender.[59] He was quick to rule himself out however instead declaring his support for Menzies Campbell ahead of his former colleague in the European Parliament Chris Huhne,[60] with Campbell going on to win the ballot. Clegg had been a signatory to the letter circulated by Vince Cable prior to Kennedy's resignation, which stated his opposition to working under Kennedy's continued leadership.[61]

Liberal Democrats' Home Affairs spokesperson

Following 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",[62] 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".[63]

Sir Menzies Campbell's resignation

Clegg caused a degree of controversy when, at the Liberal Democrat party conference in 2007, he admitted his leadership ambitions to journalists at a fringe event.[64] The admission followed a period of increased media speculation about Sir Menzies Campbell's leadership, which the admission by Clegg did nothing to reduce and resulted in a rebuke by some of his frontbench colleagues.[64] This followed a report from Kevin Maguire in the New Statesman that Clegg had failed to hide his disloyalty to Campbell's leadership.[65] Campbell eventually resigned on 15 October 2007, saying that questions about his leadership were "getting in the way of further progress by the party".[66]

 
Nick Clegg attends the Je Suis Charlie rally with his wife Miriam González Durántez in Trafalgar Square, January 2015

Leader of the Liberal Democrats (2007–2015)

Election to the leadership

 
Clegg at Cardiff University

After Campbell's resignation, Clegg was regarded by much of the media as front-runner in the leadership election.[67][68][69] The BBC's Political Editor Nick Robinson stated the election would be a two-horse race between Clegg and Chris Huhne who had stood against Campbell in the 2006 election.[70] On Friday 19 October 2007, Clegg launched his bid to become leader of the Liberal Democrats.[71] Clegg and Huhne clashed in the campaign over Trident but were largely in agreement on many other issues. It was announced on 18 December that he had won.[72] Clegg was appointed to the Privy Council (PC) on 30 January 2008, and affirmed his membership on 12 March 2008.

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 has stated that he feels "a profound antagonism for prejudice of all sorts".[25] He declared his priorities as: defending civil liberties; devolving the running of public services to parents, pupils and patients; and protecting the environment.[73]

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, but that he has "an immense amount of respect for people of faith".[74][75][76] In 2010, Clegg elaborated on this question, stating: "I was asked a question once in one of those questions where you're only allowed to answer 'yes' or 'no', and I was asked 'Do you believe in God?' As it happens I don't know whether God exists. I'm much more of an agnostic."[76]

He resigned as the leader of the Liberal Democrats after the 2015 general election. He said the results were "immeasurably more crushing and unkind than he feared".[77] He was succeeded by Tim Farron after a leadership election.

GQ magazine interview controversy

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.[78] Senior Lib Dem MPs defended his comments; Lembit Öpik said it showed "you can be a human being and a party Leader", and Norman Lamb that "Nick tries 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."[79] Speaking to the BBC about the interview Clegg said "wisdom with hindsight is an easy thing" as what had been a split second response had been "taken out of context, interpreted, over interpreted and so on".[80]

Relationships with the frontbench

Upon his election Clegg appointed leadership rival Huhne as his replacement as Home Affairs spokesperson and following his strong performances as acting party leader, Vince Cable was retained as the main Treasury spokesperson. Media commentators noted that the Clegg-Huhne-Cable triumvirate provided the Liberal Democrats with an effective political team for the coming years.[81] On 5 March 2008, Clegg suffered a real test following the resignation of three of his front bench team. David Heath, Alistair Carmichael and Tim Farron had been told to abstain in the vote for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty but had wanted to vote in favour and so defied the whip. In addition to the three frontbenchers, a further 12 more backbench LibDem MPs also defied the whip and voted "yes". Clegg said "though we have disagreed on this issue I fully understand and respect their strongly held views on the subject.... However, as they have recognised, the shadow cabinet cannot operate effectively unless the principle of collective responsibility is maintained."[82]

The resignations happened not long after Michael Martin, the Speaker of the House of Commons, had on 26 February 2008 blocked calls by the Liberal Democrats for an "in or out" referendum on Britain's EU membership. The Speaker's authority was called into question when, led by Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrats marched out of the House of Commons, calling the Speaker's decision a constitutional "outrage". Just moments earlier, frontbench foreign affairs spokesman for the party Ed Davey had been expelled from the chamber by the Speaker's deputy, Sir Michael Lord, for further challenging the ruling.[83]

In November 2008, Clegg suffered more allegations of difficulties with the front bench following an article in the Daily Mirror that reported that Clegg had criticised senior members of his front bench whilst on a plane journey. He told the BBC's Politics Show that "a lot of it is, frankly, fiction".[84]

"I believe every single person is extraordinary. The tragedy is that we have a society where too many people never get to fulfil that extraordinary potential. My view – the liberal view – is that government's job is to help them to do it. Not to tell people how to live their lives. But to make their choices possible, to release their potential, no matter who they are. The way to do that is to take power away from those who hoard it. To challenge vested interests. To break down privilege. To clear out the bottlenecks in our society that block opportunity and block progress. And so give everyone a chance to live the life they want."[85]

Liberal Democrat Manifesto Launch, 14 April 2010

Attitudes to other parties

In the Commons, Clegg initially concentrated most of his fire on Labour and Prime Minister Gordon Brown, but in the autumn of 2009 began also focusing on Cameron and the Conservatives.[86] Clegg rejected an appeal from Cameron for their two parties to work together.[87] Clegg argued that the Conservatives were totally different from his party, and that the Lib Dems were the true "progressives" in UK politics.[87] At the 2009 party conference in Bournemouth, he accused the Conservatives of "simply believing it is their turn" and claimed that come the election the "choice before people is the choice between fake, phoney change from David Cameron's Conservatives, and real change the Liberal Democrats offer".

Parliamentary expenses

 
Clegg with David Cameron, and Chris Huhne in 2009

Clegg became the first party leader in modern political history to call for a Speaker of the House of Commons to resign, describing then-Speaker Michael Martin, following his handling of the expenses scandal, as a defender of the status quo and an obstacle to the reform of Parliament.[33][88]

In response to revelations about MPs' expenses, Clegg set out his plans for reform of Parliament in The Guardian.[89] Speaking about the plans, he said: "let us bar the gates of Westminster and stop MPs leaving for their summer holidays until this crisis has been sorted out, and every nook and cranny of our political system has been reformed." He argued for the "reinvention of British politics" within 100 days, calling for a commitment to accept the Kelly expenses report in full; the power to recall members suspended for misconduct; House of Lords reform; reform of party funding; fixed-term parliaments; enabling legislation for a referendum on AV+; and changes to House of Commons procedure to reduce executive power.[6]

Shortly ahead of the election, Clegg was asked about his own expenses by Andrew Neil of the BBC. Clegg allegedly claimed the full amount permissible under the Additional Cost Allowance, including claims for food, gardening and redecorating his second home. The Telegraph also said Clegg claimed £80 for international call charges, a claim he said he would repay.[90]

Perspective

Clegg aimed to modernise the Liberal Democrat Party at the same time as maintaining its traditions of political and philosophical liberalism. In 2011, he told a party conference that the Liberal Democrats were radical centrist in orientation: "Our opponents try to divide us with their outdated labels of left and right. But we are not on the left and we are not on the right. We have our own label: Liberal. We are liberals and we own the freehold to the centre ground of British politics. Our politics is the politics of the radical centre."[91]

Policies

When he became leader of the Liberal Democrats, Clegg called for more choice for patients on waiting lists in the National Health Service (NHS), giving them the option to go private and to be funded by the NHS if they wish; a substantial tax cut to "put more money back into the pockets of people", better action on the environment, the abandonment of Britain's Trident missile-defence system, fixed-term parliaments; devolving more power to local councils; giving constituents the power to force a by-election if their MP was found responsible for serious wrongdoing; and a slimming of government across the board.[92] Clegg campaigned to cut spending on defence projects such as Eurofighter as well as the UK Trident programme.[93] As regards public spending, at the party's 2009 conference in Bournemouth Clegg argued for "savage" spending cuts and said politicians need to treat voters "like grown ups" whilst accusing the Labour and Conservative parties of indulging in "childish games" over the "c-word".[94]

Gurkha campaign

 
Nick Clegg being presented with a Gurkha hat by a Gurkha veteran during his Maidstone visit to celebrate the success of their joint campaign for the right to live in Britain, 2009

On 29 April 2009 the Liberal Democrats proposed in the House of Commons to offer all Gurkhas an equal right of residence; the motion resulted in a defeat for the Government by 267 votes to 246. It was the only first day motion defeat for a government since 1978. On speaking about the result Clegg said "this is an immense victory [...] for the rights of Gurkhas who have been waiting so long for justice, a victory for Parliament, a victory for decency". He added that it was "the kind of thing people want this country to do".[95]

On 21 May 2009, the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced that all Gurkha veterans who retired before 1997 with at least four years' service could settle in the UK. The actress and daughter of Gurkha corps Major James Lumley, Joanna Lumley, who had highlighted the treatment of the Gurkhas and campaigned for their rights, commented: "This is the welcome we have always longed to give".[96]

Deputy Prime Minister (2010–2015)

The morning after the 2010 general election presented the country with no single political party able to form a government that would command a majority in the House of Commons. In light of this reality the Conservative leader, David Cameron, went public and gave a "big, open and comprehensive offer" to the Liberal Democrats' leader and said that he wanted to open up negotiations with them to form Britain's first coalition government since Winston Churchill's war ministry during the Second World War. In reply, Clegg said that he had always maintained that the party with the most seats and the most votes should have the right to seek to govern.[97]

Following the announcement, teams of negotiators from both parties formulated what would become the Coalition Agreement which would form the basis of their partnership together.[98] Gordon Brown's resignation on 11 May 2010 meant that Cameron was invited by the Queen to form a government[99] and a coalition with the Liberal Democrats was agreed, with Clegg as the Deputy Prime Minister and Lord President of the Council.[100] He was also made Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform, which was a key point for the Liberal Democrats during the creation of the coalition. Of the 57 Liberal Democrat MPs, only two (Charles Kennedy and John Leech) refused to support the Conservative Coalition agreement.[101]

On 5 July 2010, Clegg unveiled plans to have fewer MPs and to hold a referendum on the voting system so that the next general election would be contested under the Alternative Vote system. The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill if successful would see the date of the referendum set for 5 May 2011.[102][103] The bill also introduced plans to reduce the number of MP's in the House of Commons from 650 to 600, something the Labour party attacked as gerrymandering, as to do this there would need to be boundary changes.[103] The referendum on AV was to ask voters if they wish to "adopt the 'alternative vote' system instead of the current 'first past the post' system" for electing MPs". The question required a yes or no answer.[104] The result of the referendum was that the alternative vote proposal was defeated by a margin of 2:1.

Clegg also confirmed that the government planned to introduce legislation for five-year fixed-term parliaments, with elections to be held on the first Thursday in May of the fifth year after the previous general election, starting with 7 May 2015. The corresponding bill was presented to parliament on 22 July 2010 and the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 received Royal Assent on 15 September 2011.

 
Nick Clegg with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte on 15 November 2010

On 21 July 2010, Clegg became the first Liberal Democrat leader to answer for Prime minister's questions.[105] He courted controversy during the exchange when at the despatch box he attacked Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chancellor Jack Straw for the decision to invade Iraq, saying "perhaps one day you could account for your role in the most disastrous decision of all, which is the illegal invasion of Iraq." Despite having long-held views about the issue, the comment was controversial, as it did not reflect the policy of the government, which was that the legality of the war in Iraq was currently being studied by the Iraq inquiry.[106]

The issue of student financing had been considered one of the flagship policies of the Liberal Democrats with all of the party's MPs, including Clegg, signing the Vote for Students pledge to oppose any increase in student tuition fees prior to the 2010 general election.[107] As part of the coalition agreement the Lib Dems abandoned their pledge to oppose any increase in tuition fees but gained permission to abstain on any vote relating to the increase of tuition fees.[108] Clegg wrote to his MPs saying that he had "struggled endlessly" with the issue and said that departing from the pledge he had made prior to the election would be "one of the most difficult decisions of my political career". Defending recommendations of the Browne Review, Clegg said that poorer students would pay less since the income level at which students needed to earn before beginning to pay off their student loan would rise from £15,000 to £21,000.[109] On 19 September 2012, Clegg apologised, not for breaking his pledge, but for having "made a promise we weren't absolutely sure we could deliver".[110][111] The apology was parodied in a song.[112]

On 14 October 2010, Clegg delivered a speech at a school in Chesterfield, at which he announced the government's intention to spend £7 billion on a 'fairness premium' designed to see extra support going to the poorest pupils over the course of the parliament.[113] The package announced would provide 15 hours a week free nursery education for the poorest two-year-olds and a 'pupil premium' which would be given to schools to help those pupils eligible for free school meals worth £2.5 billion a year.[114] On 20 October 2010, the plans for the 'fairness premium' were introduced by the Treasury as part of the spending review which said that the money would be introduced over the period of the review which "will support the poorest in the early years and at every stage of their education".[115]

In June 2011, Clegg proposed that more than 46 million people would be handed shares in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group under the "people's bank" plan. The plan proposes that ordinary voters would be able to profit from any increase in the value of their shares once the Treasury has recouped taxpayers' money used for the bail-out – an offer that could eventually be worth up to £1,000 to householders. Clegg said that it was "psychologically immensely important" for people to be given a stake in the banks in the wake of the financial crisis.[116]

In August 2012, after reform of the House of Lords was abandoned, Clegg said the Conservatives had defied the Coalition agreement by trying to "pick and choose" which items of Government policy they support. Clegg also revealed the Conservatives rejected his suggestion of a "last ditch" compromise to save both policies.[117] In September 2012, Clegg formally announced that he was "regrettably" withdrawing proposals to reform the Lords in the face of overwhelming opposition from Conservative MPs. He signalled he would exact his revenge by refusing to sack any Liberal Democrat minister who voted against changes to MPs' boundaries – which is Government policy – in retaliation over the Lords reform débâcle. Traditionally party leaders are offered peerages when they leave the House of Commons. When asked in the House of Commons if he would take a seat in the Lords, he said: "No", adding: "I personally will not take a seat in an unreformed House of Lords. It just sticks in the throat."[118]

Opposition (2015–2017)

Clegg retained his Sheffield Hallam seat in the 2015 election, despite a strong campaign from Labour with a 17% swing in the vote. Clegg campaigned for Remain in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, as did all other Liberal Democrat MPs, and became the Lib Dem spokesperson for Exiting the European Union and International Trade.

Electoral performance and standing in the polls

Standing in the polls

After Clegg became leader, the polls were mixed; the Liberal Democrats occasionally polled above 20 points,[119] averaging around 19%.[120] In May 2009, the party overtook Labour in an opinion poll (25%–22%) for the first time since the days of its predecessor, the SDP–Liberal Alliance, in 1987.[121] Clegg thus became the first Liberal Democrat leader to out-poll Labour in an opinion poll. After Clegg's performance in the first of three general election debates on 15 April 2010, there was an unprecedented surge of media attention and support for the Liberal Democrats in opinion polls. ComRes reported the Liberal Democrats at 24% on the day,[122] and on 20 April in a YouGov poll, the Liberal Democrats were on 34%, one point above the Conservatives, with Labour in third place on 28%.[123] This success was described as "Cleggmania" by journalists.[124]

Following the formation of the coalition, support for the Liberal Democrats fell.[8] On 8 December 2010, the eve of a House of Commons vote on changes in the funding of higher education, an opinion poll conducted by YouGov recorded voting intention figures of Conservatives 41%, Labour 41%, other parties 11% and Liberal Democrats 8%,[125] the lowest level of support recorded for the Liberal Democrats in any opinion poll since September 1990.[126]

Parliamentary by-elections (2008–2010)

Five parliamentary by-elections were held during Clegg's leadership prior to the 2010 general election. At Crewe and Nantwich the party's share of the vote decreased by 4%. In the subsequent Henley by-election the party achieved a 1.8% increase in their vote. At the Norwich North by-election the party came third with a 2.2% fall in their vote share. The two Scottish by-elections, Glenrothes and Glasgow East, saw decreases in the Liberal Democrat vote, 8% and 10% respectively.

2008 and 2009 local elections

The local election results for the Liberal Democrats during the same period were mixed. In the 2008 local elections the Liberal Democrats took second place with 25% of the vote making a net gain of 34 councillors and took control of Sheffield City Council,[127] but their share of the vote was down 1%. The next year the Liberal Democrats gained Bristol but lost both Somerset and Devon producing a net loss of councils and a net loss of one councillor.[128] The party however did increase its share of the vote by 3% to 28% beating the Labour Party into third place. In the European Parliament elections held on the same day, the Liberal Democrats gained a seat but had a slight decrease in their share of the vote, staying in 4th place compared to the previous European elections, behind the two main parties and UKIP.[129]

2008 London elections

In the 2008 London Assembly elections the Liberal Democrats were the only one of the three main parties to see a decrease in their share of the vote, and in the mayoral election the Liberal Democrat candidate Brian Paddick came third again with a decreased share of the vote.

2010 general election

At the 2010 general election, the Liberal Democrats won 23% of the vote, an improvement of 1%, however they only won 57 seats, 5 fewer than in 2005. No political party had an overall majority, resulting in the nation's first hung parliament since February 1974.[130] Talks between Cameron, the Conservative Party leader, and Clegg led to an agreed Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition, enabling the Queen to invite Cameron to form a government.

Parliamentary by-elections (2010 onwards)

Since the 2010 general election, Clegg's Liberal Democrats have contested 13 by-elections in Great Britain (as of 2 March 2013).[131] The party scored their first by-election win of Clegg's leadership at Eastleigh in 2013, with Mike Thornton holding the seat for the Liberal Democrats, despite a 19% swing away from the party. Clegg described the result as an election in which Liberal Democrats "overcame the odds with a stunning victory."[132]

Earlier by-elections in the parliament had proven less successful. They failed to win Oldham East and Saddleworth[133] in January 2011, after they had successfully petitioned to overturn the general election result. They polled 32% of the vote, a small increase on 2010, but lost out to Labour whose vote was up by 10 percentage points. The Liberal Democrats also came second at Leicester South (which they had held between 2004 and 2005) in May 2011 with 23% (down 4% on 2010),[134] and at Manchester Central in November 2012 where they polled 9% (down 17%).[135]

In the remaining nine contests, Liberal Democrats have finished no higher than third place (and in Rotherham finished in an unprecedented 8th position, with just 451 votes, or 2% of the total).[136] In every by-election except Oldham East and Saddleworth their vote has fallen, with decreases of over 10% recorded at eight of the contests. In six of the 13 by-elections, the party have lost their deposit after failing to poll 5% of the vote – an unusually high number of such lost deposits for a major party.

2011 local, Scottish and Welsh elections

A year following the formation of the Coalition Clegg's Liberal Democrats faced poor results in the local elections. In Scotland the party lost all its mainland constituency seats, holding only the Shetland and Orkney islands. Their constituency vote share also fell from 16% to just 8%[137] In the Welsh elections the party held just one of its 3 constituency seats, that of Welsh leader Kirsty Williams, but gained a regional seat.[138] In the 2011 local elections, the Lib Dems lost over 700 councillors, and slumped from 25% to 17% in the share of the local council vote, also losing control of Sheffield City Council with the LibDems dropping to the lowest number of councillors in more than 20 years.[139]

In the AV referendum, the Yes vote, supported by the Liberal Democrats, was defeated by 67.9% to 32.1%. In the face of the election results, Clegg told the BBC that Liberal Democrats must "get up, dust ourselves down and move on".[140]

2012 local and London elections

Local elections were held in May 2012 to 185 local authorities in Great Britain, including all 32 councils in Scotland and 21 out of 22 in Wales.

Results again proved poor for the Liberal Democrats, as they won 431 seats in total, a loss of over 300 on the pre-election position.[141] They also lost overall control of one council (Cambridge, though the Liberal Democrats hold 21 out of 42 seats, so they exercise control with the mayor's casting vote[142]). They retained control of the other six councils they were defending in England. Despite the losses, the Liberal Democrat vote share saw a modest increase compared to 2011.

Elections were also held for the Mayoralties of Salford and Liverpool. Liberal Democrat candidates polled 5% and 6% respectively, with Labour winning both contests.[143]

In London, elections were held to the London Assembly and Mayoralty. The Liberal Democrats again selected Brian Paddick as their Mayoral candidate. He polled just 4% of the vote (down from 10% in 2008), and finished fourth behind the Green Party.[144] In the Assembly, the Liberal Democrats also finished behind the Greens across London, and failed to win any of the individual constituency seats. They polled 7% of the vote on the London-wide list (which elects "top-up" candidates to the assembly under a form of proportional representation), which represented a decline of 5% on the previous contest. This meant that the party lost one seat, and was reduced to just two assembly seats, their smallest representation since the formation of the assembly in 2000.[145]

In the aftermath of the results, Clegg again faced calls to quit as leader,[146] with former MP Lembit Öpik suggesting that Clegg retain his Cabinet position while relinquishing leadership of the party, saying "My empirical view is that we would have done better with a different leader".

2012 Police and Crime Commissioner elections

As part of the Coalition Agreement, directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners were introduced to replace Police Authorities.[147] Elections[148] to the new posts took place in November 2012. Liberal Democrats contested 24 of the 41 police force areas, and failed to win any of the contests (and in fact never progressed to the second round of the two-stage count in any of the elections they fought). Their best performance was in Cumbria, where they polled 22%, while their worst was Surrey where the took just 6% of the vote.

Despite not winning any contests under their official party label, one Liberal Democrat, Winston Roddick was elected as Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales having stood as an Independent.[149] Roddick claimed that he had never hidden his party membership and that his campaign was "financed by himself with no donations or backing from any political party and he was an independent candidate in every sense of the word". His campaign also dismissed as "sour grapes" claims from the Labour Party that "the only way in which the Lib Dems thought they could win the election was by presenting themselves as independent."

2015 and 2017 general elections

In the 2015 general election, the Liberal Democrats were reduced from 57 seats to 8. Clegg held his Sheffield Hallam seat with a reduced majority. After his party's result, he resigned the party leadership the day after the election.[150][151]

In the 2017 general election, Clegg lost to Labour candidate Jared O'Mara by a margin of 2,125 votes (4.2%).[11]

Career after Parliament

Brexit

In October 2017, Clegg wrote How to Stop Brexit (And Make Britain Great Again), which made the case that Brexit was not inevitable.

In May 2018, he joined David Miliband and Nicky Morgan calling for a soft Brexit.[152] The next month he appeared at a People's Vote march in London to mark the second anniversary of the EU referendum of 2016. People's Vote was a campaign group calling for a public vote on the final Brexit deal between Britain and the EU.[153]

In July 2019, Clegg said that "aggressive and regressive English nationalism" had taken over the Conservative Party in their competition with Nigel Farage, the leader of the Brexit Party established in November 2018. When asked how he expected the next few years to unfold, Clegg told the New Statesman that "the clock is now ticking for the end of the union of the United Kingdom".[154]

Broadcasting and media

From January 2013 until 2015, Clegg presented a weekly radio show on LBC called Call Clegg.[155][156] Initially broadcast in the London area, the programme went national along with LBC in February 2014.[157] The programme was nominated for two Radio Academy Awards in 2014.[158]

Between April and October 2018, Clegg fronted a podcast called Anger Management with Nick Clegg,[159] in which he interviewed known persons about the politics of anger. Since the first episode, it has been featured in The Guardian under Podcast of the Week.[160]

A party political broadcast in which Clegg apologised for the Liberal Democrats breaking the promise over tuition fees was remixed into a song, "Nick Clegg Says I'm Sorry" by The Poke and Alex Ross, and sold on iTunes as a charity single. The song charted on 23 September 2012 at number 143 in the Official UK Singles Charts before climbing to 104 the following week.[161] In his 2010 production Dandelion Mind, comedian Bill Bailey sang "Nick Clegg you don't have to wear that dress tonight, walk the streets for money, you don't have to sell your body to the right" to the tune of "Roxanne".[162]

Facebook

 
Clegg in 2023 at the AI Safety Summit

In June 2018, vice-president of global affairs and communications at Facebook, Inc. Elliot Schrage resigned his position.[163] After talks with the Facebook leadership and Richard Allan, Baron Allan of Hallam, Facebook's Director of Policy in Europe and the Liberal Democrat MP for Sheffield Hallam before Clegg, in October 2018 Clegg was hired as a lobbyist and public relations officer, replacing Schrage as Vice-President, Global Affairs and Communications.[164][165][166] He joined Facebook because he was "convinced that the culture is changing" and that "lawmakers need to have a serious conversation about whether data-intensive companies allow other companies to share and use data". He admitted that the Cambridge Analytica data scandal had "rocked Facebook to its very foundations" and told the BBC that the company "hadn't done enough in the past" in regards to data privacy.[167]

In April 2019, Clegg was accused by Věra Jourová, European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, in a letter signed by a number of senior EU civil servants, of misunderstanding EU law, stating that proposed new Facebook guidelines on political advertising would "hinder the exercise of EU electoral rights."[168] In May 2019, he rejected calls by American presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, as well as Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes to break Facebook up, saying that Facebook was "a great American success story" and that "I don't think it's a very American tradition to start penalizing success."[169] In June 2019, Clegg said there was "absolutely no evidence" that Russia had influenced the outcome of the EU referendum using Facebook. He said that the company was working towards greater regulation of technology firms.[170] In October 2019, Damian Collins, chair of the British House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, formally asked Clegg to explain why Facebook had exempted political statements from fact-checking guidelines.[171]

In 2020, Clegg helped lead the creation of the Facebook Oversight Board, which reported to him, convincing former Danish Prime Minister and former College of Europe friend Helle Thorning-Schmidt to serve as its co-chair.[172] He then played a role in Facebook's deplatforming of U.S. President Donald Trump in mid-2021.[173]

Ahead of the release of the whistleblown Facebook Files in October 2021, Clegg authored an internal memo saying that there was no evidence Facebook was a main cause in polarisation and that the company does not "profit from polarization, in fact, just the opposite."[174] He later posted a public statement saying that the reporting on the Files "conferred egregiously false motives to Facebook's leadership and employees," saying that it was "just plain false" that Facebook ignored its own internal research.[175] After the release of the Files, he then made a number of public interviews defending the company. In one of the interviews, he stated that "I can't give you a yes or no answer" when asked if Facebook played a role in amplifying extremist content ahead of the 2021 United States Capitol attack.[176] Clegg faced criticism for his role in defending the company, with the Guardian journalist John Harris dubbing him "the fall guy for Facebook's failures".[163][177][178][179][180] In February 2022, Clegg was promoted to president of global affairs.[181]

Personal life

 
Clegg with his wife Miriam holding their third son Miguel on 23 February 2009

In September 2000, Clegg married Miriam González Durántez, from Valladolid, Spain.[182] They have three sons.[183][184] While Clegg has stated that he does not believe in God,[33][185] his wife is a Roman Catholic and they are bringing up their children as Catholics. On 16 September 2010, during Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United Kingdom, Clegg attended the State reception in the grounds of Holyrood Palace and was introduced to the Pope by Her Majesty the Queen.[186] Clegg identifies as a feminist.[187]

Clegg lives in Atherton, California,[188] having previously lived in Parkfields, Putney, south west London.[189] He also has a house in his former constituency close to the Peak District, and often walked with his wife near Stanage Edge, which he describes as "one of the most romantic places in the world".[190] In May 2010 Downing Street announced that Clegg and the Foreign Secretary William Hague would share use of Chevening, which is typically the official country residence of the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom.[191] In August 2022, Clegg announced he was returning to live in London for personal reasons, including being closer to elderly parents, dividing his working time between London and California.[192]

When he appeared on Desert Island Discs in October 2010, his choice of discs included Johnny Cash, Prince and Radiohead and his luxury was a "stash of cigarettes".[193][194] In an interview in April 2011, Clegg stated he dealt with the pressures of political office by reading novels late at night and he "cries regularly to music".[195] He supports Arsenal F.C.[196]

Honours

Clegg was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2018 New Year Honours for political and public service.[197]

In popular culture

Clegg was portrayed by Bertie Carvel in the 2015 Channel 4 television film Coalition.

Ancestry

Styles

  • Mr Nicholas William Peter Clegg (1967–1999)
  • Mr Nicholas William Peter Clegg MEP (1999–2004)
  • Mr Nicholas William Peter Clegg (2004–2005)
  • Mr Nicholas William Peter Clegg MP (2005–2010)
  • The Right Honourable Nicholas William Peter Clegg MP (2010–2017)
  • The Right Honourable Nicholas William Peter Clegg (2017–2018)
  • The Right Honourable Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (2018–present)

Notes

  1. ^ Office vacant between June 2007 and May 2010.
  2. ^ Office vacant between May 2015 and September 2021.

References

  1. ^ "Nick Clegg". Desert Island Discs. 24 October 2010. BBC Radio 4. Archived from the original on 22 March 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Orange Blossom". Liberator. 2004. Archived from the original on 7 July 2007. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
  3. ^ "Nick Clegg + Economic policy | Politics". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Nick Clegg | Biography & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Nicholas CLEGG". European Parliament. n.d. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Take Back Power: Change politics for good". Liberal Democrats. 28 May 2009. Archived from the original on 30 May 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  7. ^ "Liberal Democrat 2010 election manifesto | page 6-7 4 priorities" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  8. ^ a b "Coalition under pressure as Liberal Democrat support plummets". Evening Standard. 10 August 2010. Archived from the original on 7 January 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  9. ^ "Nick Clegg holds Sheffield Hallam seat – ITV News". Itv.com. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  10. ^ "Election 2015: Clegg not sorry for 'brave' coalition". BBC News. BBC. 30 April 2015. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  11. ^ a b "Former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg loses seat amid Labour surge". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  12. ^ "2008 Report & Accounts" (PDF). United Trust Bank. 2009. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 December 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  13. ^ "Introduction to The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation". The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation. 28 September 2011. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  14. ^ "Tory Ken Clarke reveals link with Nick Clegg's father". BBC News. 16 April 2010. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  15. ^ "Was Nick Clegg's great aunt a Soviet agent?". The Independent. 2 January 2015. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  16. ^ "Politics is a family affair for Ignatieff, Clegg". The Globe and Mail. 29 April 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  17. ^ "Nick Clegg hailed as 'Russian aristocrat'". The Guardian. 20 April 2010. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  18. ^ Carruthers-Zurowski, Richard (29 April 2010). "Politics is a family affair for Ignatieff, Clegg". Archived from the original on 13 June 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  19. ^ a b Barratt, Nick (22 December 2007). "Family detective: Nick Clegg". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 27 April 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  20. ^ Brown, Colin (22 October 2007). "Kennedy offered chance to return to Lib Dems' front bench". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 26 October 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  21. ^ "Nick Clegg gives interview in fluent Dutch". The Daily Telegraph. London. 18 April 2010. Archived from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  22. ^ "GPlus welcomes Clegg as Fifth Partner". GPlus. 30 April 2004. Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2007.
  23. ^ "The Nick Clegg Story". BBC News. 18 December 2007. Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 18 December 2007.
  24. ^ "Nick Clegg: I won't silence Jenny Tonge". The Jewish Chronicle. London. 18 September 2009. Archived from the original on 4 February 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  25. ^ a b Barrow, Simon. "Interview with Nick Clegg: What is he about?". Ekklesia. Archived from the original on 25 April 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
  26. ^ "Nick Clegg says he might send his eldest son to a private school if that is what his wife Miriam wants – OnlineNigeria News". news2.onlinenigeria.com. 24 January 2013. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  27. ^ Private Eye No. 1310 23 March – 5 April 2012 page 16
  28. ^ "Nick Clegg: 'I set fire to a cacti collection and I'm not proud of it'". The Independent. 15 May 2014. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  29. ^ "Clegg 'not proud' of conviction". BBC News. 19 September 2007. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  30. ^ "Nick Clegg gets asked about his arson 'conviction'. 11/08/2011". 11 August 2011. Archived from the original on 9 July 2015 – via YouTube.
  31. ^ a b "In the eye of the media" (PDF), Bin Brook, Robinson College, Cambridge, pp. 2–5, March 2010, archived from the original (PDF) on 14 May 2011, Nick Clegg (1986), Robinson's first major political party leader, talks to Bin Brook about his time at Robinson and his views on the forthcoming general election.
  32. ^ Edemariam, Aida (1 May 2010). "Nick Clegg: 'I like to think it's a combination of novelty and substance'". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  33. ^ a b c d e f "Election '10: 10 things you didn't know about Nick Clegg". The Times. 21 April 2008. Archived from the original on 19 April 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
  34. ^ "Interview with Student Direct". Archived from the original on 20 June 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2007.
  35. ^ "Suomi-faniksi tunnustautunut Nick Clegg sekoitti Britannian vaaliasetelmat". Helsingin Sanomat. 18 April 2010. Archived from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  36. ^ Sparrow, Andrew (15 April 2008). "Cambridge blue – did Nick Clegg once join the Tory party?". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  37. ^ "Nick Clegg 'can't remember' joining Tories". The Daily Telegraph. London. 23 April 2008. Archived from the original on 23 April 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  38. ^ Woolf, Marie (15 May 2011). "Lib Dem leader 'was a student Tory' at Cambridge". The Sunday Times. p. 8.
  39. ^ "CentreRight: Nick Clegg's Tory past". Archived from the original on 16 April 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  40. ^ "First-Class Leadership? « LRB blog". lrb.co.uk. 10 April 2010. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  41. ^ "BBC Daily Politics profile". BBC News. 18 September 2007. Archived from the original on 12 September 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2007.
  42. ^ "Christopher Hitchens dies at 62 after suffering cancer". BBC News. 16 December 2011. Archived from the original on 6 June 2015.
  43. ^ Dieter Mahncke, Léonce Bekemans, Robert Picht, The College of Europe. Fifty years of service to Europe, College of Europe, Bruges, 1999. ISBN 90-804983-1-9
  44. ^ "Ian Burrell: Skeleton of Gaddafi is dragged out of Clegg's closet". The Independent. 22 October 2011. Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  45. ^ Doble, Anna (22 July 2010). "Lockerbie, BP, desert deals: who knows who?". Channel 4 News. Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  46. ^ "The Nick Clegg story". BBC News. 19 December 2007. Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2008.
  47. ^ "Articles in 17 April 2010 issue of Scotsman (Edinburgh, Scotland)". 17 April 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2010 – via Find Articles.[dead link]
  48. ^ "Telegraph Article UK Political Database – Candidate Nick Clegg". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 May 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  49. ^ "Lib Dem internal group – Liberal Democrat source". Libdems.org.uk. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  50. ^ Skinner, Trevor. "GSM Europe". GSM Europe. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  51. ^ Clegg, Nick (27 November 2002). "Why I'm quitting Europe". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2007.
  52. ^ The Committee Office, House of Lords (16 June 2004). "Publications.parliament.uk". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  53. ^ "Randall and Rentoul unleashed: Election Oscars 2010 – UK Politics, UK". The Independent. London. 9 May 2010. Archived from the original on 12 May 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  54. ^ Chancellor, Alexander (23 April 2010). "This Clegg campaign could backfire on the press". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 10 September 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  55. ^ "GPlus welcomes Clegg as Fifth Partner". GPlus Europe. 30 April 2004. Archived from the original on 27 April 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  56. ^ "Nick Clegg's lobbying background second home his banker dad". Channel4 Fact Check. 20 April 2010. Archived from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  57. ^ "2005 general election: Sheffield Hallam". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 9 March 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  58. ^ "Election Maps". Election Maps. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  59. ^ Tempest, Matthew (6 January 2006). "Kennedy told: quit by Monday". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 2 July 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  60. ^ Clegg, Nick (20 January 2006). "It's a marathon, not a sprint". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  61. ^ "Defiant Kennedy urged to quit now". BBC News. 6 January 2006. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  62. ^ Clegg, Nick (27 November 2006). "Why we need a Freedom Bill". eGov Monitor. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  63. ^ "We Can Cut Crime!". Liberal Democrats. 2007. Archived from the original on 31 May 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2008.
  64. ^ a b Summers, Deborah; Taylor, Ros (19 September 2007). "Clegg admits leadership ambitions". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  65. ^ Macguire, Kevin (29 May 2006). "Village life – Kevin Maguire eavesdrops on an unhappy Minger". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 7 November 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  66. ^ "Campbell quits as Lib Dem leader". BBC News. 15 October 2007. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  67. ^ Porter, Andrew (16 October 2007). "Menzies Campbell resigns as Lib Dem leader". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Nick Clegg, the party's home affairs spokesman, is the favourite to take over.
  68. ^ Glover, Julian (16 October 2007). "Ambitious and assured – profile of Nick Clegg". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007.
  69. ^ "Video of Clegg announcing candidacy". 19 October 2007. Archived from the original on 19 November 2011. Retrieved 2 November 2007 – via YouTube.
  70. ^ BBC Radio 4 Today, 16 October 2007
  71. ^ "Clegg launches Lib Dem leader bid". BBC News. 19 October 2007. Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  72. ^ "Nick Clegg is new Lib Dem leader". BBC News. 18 December 2007. Archived from the original on 19 January 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  73. ^ "Nick Clegg's speech in full". BBC News. 18 December 2007. Archived from the original on 23 December 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2010. Here is the full text from new Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg's speech, after winning the two-month contest to succeed Sir Menzies Campbell
  74. ^ "Clegg 'does not believe in God'". BBC News. 19 December 2007. Archived from the original on 20 December 2007. Retrieved 19 November 2007.
  75. ^ Hurst, Greg (19 December 2007). "Nick Clegg says: 'I don't believe in God'". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2007. Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrats' new leader, has defied political convention with a blunt admission that he is an atheist.
  76. ^ a b "Nick Clegg Transcript". Saga. 25 April 2010. Archived from the original on 6 May 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2015. ...I have always been very open. I was asked a question once in one of those questions where you're only allowed to answer "yes" or "no", and I was asked "Do you believe in God?" As it happens I don't know whether God exists. I'm much more of an agnostic. But of course when I was asked "yes" or "no", I tried (as I always do) to give a straight answer, and I said "Well, no, I don't know". As it happens I have an immense amount of respect for people of faith. I'm not a man of faith ... [but] my wife is, you know, religious. My children are being brought up my three children are being brought up in her faith. I accompany them to church pretty well every week because, you know, I respect that. Large numbers of my family are, it's just that I am not a man of faith. I know it's fashionable in politics, just as it is fashionable in politics to say that you support a football team even if you haven't since the year of sort of – since you were two years old. It's also fashionable to suddenly pretend that people have faith when they don't. I have always been very open about the fact that I am not a man of faith.
  77. ^ "Election 2015: Stability at the top as David Cameron keeps key Cabinet ministers in place – as it happened, May 8". The Telegraph. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  78. ^ "Nick Clegg has had sex with 'no more' than 30". The Daily Telegraph. 1 April 2008. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  79. ^ "Clegg sex quiz openness defended". BBC News. 1 April 2008. Archived from the original on 6 April 2008. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  80. ^ "Clegg bid for compulsory english – magazine interview". BBC News. 28 April 2008. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  81. ^ Robinson, Nick (18 December 2007). "A familiar recipe". Nick Robinson's newslog. Archived from the original on 20 December 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2007.
  82. ^ "Senior Lib Dems quit over Euro vote". BBC News. 5 March 2008. Archived from the original on 9 March 2008. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  83. ^ Helm, Toby (27 February 2008). "Lib Dems walk out over Michael Martin's ruling". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  84. ^ "Clegg downplays criticism report". BBC News. 30 November 2008. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008.
  85. ^ Nick Clegg's speech at Liberal Democrat manifesto launch Archived 3 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine Liberal Democrats 14 April 2010
  86. ^ Wheeler, Brian (19 September 2009). "Clegg rounds on 'phoney' Tories". BBC News. Archived from the original on 28 September 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  87. ^ a b Wheeler, Brian (20 September 2009). "Clegg rejects Tory alliance call". BBC News. Archived from the original on 24 September 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  88. ^ Coates, Sam (17 May 2009). "Speaker Michael Martin's position weakens Nick Clegg breaks rank". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 19 May 2009. Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  89. ^ "Nick Clegg: Bar the gates. No summer holiday before the overhaul". The Guardian. London. 27 May 2009. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  90. ^ Prince, Rosa (13 December 2005). "Nick Clegg". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 16 May 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2009.
  91. ^ Clegg, Nick (13 March 2011). "Nick Clegg's Speech to Spring Conference". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  92. ^ "Liberal Democrats Manifesto for 2010 General Election" (PDF). The Liberal Democrats. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  93. ^ "Highlights: Britain's Second Election TV Debate". Reuters. 9 February 2009. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  94. ^ "Clegg defends 'savage cuts' call". BBC News. 21 September 2009. Archived from the original on 25 September 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  95. ^ Brown defeated over Gurkha rules "Brown defeated over Gurkha rules". 29 April 2009. Archived from the original on 6 May 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2009.
  96. ^ "Gurkhas win right to settle in UK". 21 May 2009. Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  97. ^ The Times | David Cameron opens talks with Liberal Democrats after election results in hung parliament Archived 1 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  98. ^ "Hung parliament Labour close to conceding defeat". BBC News. 11 May 2010. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  99. ^ "David Cameron becomes Britains new prime minister". BBC News. 12 May 2010. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  100. ^ "Timeline: How the coalition unfolded". BBC News. 13 May 2010. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  101. ^ "John Leech did not vote for the coalition - but who is the third man?". Next Left. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  102. ^ "Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011". Parliament of the UK. Archived from the original on 25 July 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  103. ^ a b "Nick Clegg outlines plans for electoral reform". BBC News. 5 July 2010. Archived from the original on 8 July 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  104. ^ "AV referendum question published". BBC. 22 July 2010. Archived from the original on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  105. ^ "Government clarifies Clegg's PMQ remarks". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 25 September 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  106. ^ Jones, Alan (22 July 2010). "Clegg under pressure after Iraq war comment". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 25 July 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  107. ^ Watt, Nicholas (12 November 2010). "Lib dems planned before election to abandon tuition fees pledge". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  108. ^ "BBC The Browne review Q&A". BBC. 14 October 2010. Archived from the original on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  109. ^ "Clegg urges MP's to think before opposing Browne review". BBC News. 13 October 2010. Archived from the original on 16 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  110. ^ "Senior Lib Dems apologise over tuition fees pledge". BBC News. 20 September 2012. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012.
  111. ^ "Watch: Nick Clegg's tuition fees apology". Politics.co.uk. 20 September 2012. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012.
  112. ^ "The Nick Clegg Apology Song: I'm Sorry (The Autotune Remix)". 19 September 2012. Archived from the original on 6 January 2016 – via YouTube.
  113. ^ Stratton, Allegra (18 October 2010). "Nick Clegg secures £7 billion for fairness premium". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  114. ^ Roberts, Laura; Paton, Graeme (15 October 2010). "Poor pupils will receive £7bn fairness premium". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 18 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  115. ^ "Spending review – Fairness". HM Treasury. Archived from the original on 23 October 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  116. ^ "Give voters shares in bailed-out banks, says Nick Clegg". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 June 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  117. ^ "Nick Clegg: the Coalition contract is 'broken' over Lords and boundary reform". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 August 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  118. ^ Hope, Christopher (3 September 2012). "'Arise Lord Clegg?' No, it would stick in my throat, the Deputy Prime Minister says". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012.
  119. ^ "Current voting intentions". UK Polling Report. Archived from the original on 17 April 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  120. ^ "The UKPolling Report Polling Average". UK Polling Report. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  121. ^ Disaster for Gordon Brown as Labour falls below Lib Dems in new poll Archived 2 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine The Daily Telegraph (London), 30 May 2009
  122. ^ "ITV News Instant Poll Results 15 April 2010". Comres. Archived from the original on 21 April 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
  123. ^ Wells, Anthony. "Latest voting intention 20 April 2010". YouGov. Retrieved 20 April 2010.[dead link]
  124. ^ Carvalho, Edzia; Winters, Kristi (2014). "'I Went with What I Always Do ...': A Qualitative Analysis of 'Cleggmania' and Vote Choice in the 2010 British General Election" (PDF). Parliamentary Affairs. 68 (2): 423–446. doi:10.1093/pa/gst050. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  125. ^ "Gov't trackers – update 8th Dec". Today.yougov.co.uk. Archived from the original on 11 December 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  126. ^ "UK Polling Report". UK Polling Report. 8 December 2010. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  127. ^ "Lib Dems take power in Sheffield". 2 May 2008. Archived from the original on 8 June 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  128. ^ "Councils A-Z". BBC. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  129. ^ "UK Results". BBC. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  130. ^ "United Kingdom - National Results". BBC. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  131. ^ "By-elections since the 2010 General Election – UK Parliament". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 4 March 2013.
  132. ^ "Eastleigh by-election: Lib Dems hold on despite UKIP surge". BBC News. 1 March 2013. Archived from the original on 1 March 2013.
  133. ^ [1] Archived 2 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  134. ^ [2] Archived 2 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  135. ^ [3] Archived 2 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  136. ^ [4] Archived 2 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  137. ^ "Scotland elections". BBC News. Archived from the original on 1 February 2017.
  138. ^ "Wales elections". BBC News. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015.
  139. ^ "England Council Elections". BBC News. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015.
  140. ^ "Vote 2011: Nick Clegg quit calls after council losses". BBC News. 7 May 2011. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011.
  141. ^ "2012 Council Results". BBC News. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013.
  142. ^ "Lib Dems lose overall control of Cambridge". Cambridge News. 22 March 2013. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013.
  143. ^ "English mayor elections and referendums". BBC News. 4 May 2012. Archived from the original on 3 May 2012.
  144. ^ "Mayoral Election 2012". BBC News. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016.
  145. ^ "London Assembly Results". BBC News. Archived from the original on 29 November 2017.
  146. ^ "Liberal Democrats suffering heavy local election defeat". BBC News. 4 May 2012. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013.
  147. ^ "Q&A: Police and crime commissioners". BBC News. 21 April 2016. Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  148. ^ "Results: Police elections". BBC News. 15 February 2016. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  149. ^ News: The latest North Wales news from Archived 20 April 2013 at archive.today. The Daily Post (24 May 2013).
  150. ^ "Election 2015: Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband resign as leaders". BBC News. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 27 November 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  151. ^ "Election results: Nick Clegg resigns after Lib Dem losses". BBC News. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 15 May 2015.
  152. ^ Culbertson, Alix (14 May 2018). "David Miliband joins Nick Clegg and Nicky Morgan in call for soft Brexit". Sky News. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  153. ^ Staff writer (23 June 2018). "'At least 100,000' march for vote on final Brexit deal". Sky News. Archived from the original on 25 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  154. ^ PoliticsHome.com (17 July 2019). "Nick Clegg says Tories' Brexit stance has left 'the clock ticking' towards break-up of UK". PoliticsHome.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  155. ^ Topping, Alexandra (10 January 2013). "Nick Clegg launches LBC radio show – and admits to owning a onesie". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  156. ^ Treneman, Ann. "Nick back on air with talk of pants and revival". The Times. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  157. ^ Membery, York (5 February 2014). "Is Nick Clegg ready to hit the nation's airwaves?". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  158. ^ "The Radio Academy Awards 2014: Nominees". Radio Today. 2 April 2014. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  159. ^ "Anger Management with Nick Clegg". audioboom.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  160. ^ Slaney, Rowan; Verdier, Hannah (27 April 2018). "Anger Management with Nick Clegg – podcasts of the week". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  161. ^ "Nick Clegg's tuition fee apology spoof enters charts". The Daily Telegraph. London. 22 September 2012. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012.
  162. ^ "Bill Bailey on British comedy's 'boom time'". BBC News. 6 December 2010. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  163. ^ a b "'Insufficient and very defensive': how Nick Clegg became the fall guy for Facebook's failures". The Guardian. 14 October 2021. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  164. ^ "Facebook hires Nick Clegg as head of global affairs". Financial Times. 19 October 2018. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  165. ^ "Facebook hires Nick Clegg as head of global affairs". The Guardian. 19 October 2018. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  166. ^ Parker, George (19 October 2018). "Nick Clegg seeks to be 'bridge' between Big Tech and government". Financial Times. London. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  167. ^ "Facebook 'rocked to its very foundations'". 25 July 2019. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  168. ^ "EU tells Facebook's Nick Clegg to rethink ad rules for elections". The Guardian. 17 April 2019. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  169. ^ "Nick Clegg rejects Facebook break-up calls backed by Kamala Harris". The Guardian. 12 May 2019. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  170. ^ "Facebook: Nick Clegg says 'no evidence' of Russian interference in Brexit vote". 14 July 2019. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  171. ^ "UK queries Facebook decision to exempt political statements from fact-checking". The Guardian. 22 October 2019. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  172. ^ Scola, Nancy (15 May 2020). "How Nick Clegg is trying to fix Facebook's global image". Politico. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  173. ^ Satariano, Adam; Kang, Cecilia (5 May 2021). "British Political Veteran Steers Facebook's Trump Decision". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  174. ^ Isaac, Mike (2 October 2021). "Whistle-Blower to Accuse Facebook of Contributing to Jan. 6 Riot, Memo Says". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  175. ^ "Facebook slams Wall Street Journal reports as 'deliberate mischaracterisations'". The Guardian. 18 September 2021. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  176. ^ "Facebook executive won't give 'yes or no answer' if site amplified pro-insurrection content before Capitol riot". The Daily Dot. 11 October 2021. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  177. ^ Analysis by Luke McGee and Stephen Collinson (26 October 2021). "Analysis: How Nick Clegg ended up putting out fires for Facebook". CNN. Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  178. ^ "Nick Clegg's outrageous defence of Facebook is enough to drive anyone to extremes". The Independent. 25 October 2021. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  179. ^ "Nick Clegg's Facebook nightmare". The Spectator Australia. 11 October 2021. Archived from the original on 11 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  180. ^ Werber, Cassie (5 October 2021). "Nick Clegg, Facebook's lead apologist, used to be a political idealist". Quartz. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  181. ^ "Nick Clegg gets bigger role at Facebook-owner Meta". BBC News. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  182. ^ "Nick Clegg's wife Miriam Gonzalez says his dance moves won her over". Metro. UK. 22 June 2012. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  183. ^ 'I'd give Nick 8/10 for Spanish,' says Lib Dem leader's wife – Miriam González Durántez, aka Mrs Clegg, talks about her family life, flamenco and that infamous GQ interview Archived 14 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine The Times, 16 September 2008
  184. ^ "Third son for Nick Clegg". The Guardian. London. Press Association. 23 February 2009. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  185. ^ Peev, Gerri (20 December 2007). "Religion: I don't believe in God". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 19 April 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  186. ^ Hough, Andrew (16 September 2010). "Pope Visit UK 2010: Live". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 18 September 2010.
  187. ^ Halliday, Cresci, Josh, Elena (27 October 2014). "David Cameron under fire for refusing to wear pro-feminist T-shirt". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  188. ^ Lumley, Sarah (26 January 2019). "Nick Clegg swaps Putney townhouse for £7million California mansion ahead of new Facebook role". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  189. ^ Aitkenhead, Decca (1 June 2009). "Nick Clegg: 'I've seen enough of my predecessors being led up the garden path and then disappointed'". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  190. ^ Clegg, Nick (14 February 2010). "Destination romance: Peak District". The Observer. London. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  191. ^ Sparrow, Andrew (18 May 2010). "Nick Clegg and William Hague to share country house". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  192. ^ Warrington, James; Corfield, Gareth (3 August 2022). "Sir Nick Clegg returns to London in latest Meta move". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  193. ^ "Desert Island Discs with Nick Clegg". Desert Island Discs. 24 October 2010. BBC. Radio 4. Archived from the original on 7 April 2011.
  194. ^ Mason, Chris (24 October 2010). "Scrutinising Nick Clegg's desert island choices". BBC News. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  195. ^ Prince, Rosa (6 April 2011). "Nick Clegg: I cry to music and even my sons ask why everyone hates me". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 9 April 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
  196. ^ "Cameron and Clegg asked about favourite football teams". BBC News. Archived from the original on 28 April 2015.
  197. ^ "No. 62150". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2017. p. N2.
  198. ^ "Nick Clegg Family Tree & History, Ancestry & Genealogy - FameChain". www.famechain.com. Retrieved 30 March 2022.

Further reading

Books by Nick Clegg

Books about Nick Clegg

  • (2011) Nick Clegg: The Biography by Chris Bowers
  • (2011) The Clegg Coup: Britain's First Coalition Government Since Lloyd George by Jasper Gerard
  • (2011) The Cameron-Clegg Government: Coalition Politics in an Age of Austerity by Simon Lee and Matt Beech
  • (2011) Dave and Nick: The Year of the Honeymoon by Ann Treneman

External links

European Parliament
New constituency Member of the European Parliament
for East Midlands

19992004
Succeeded by
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Sheffield Hallam

20052017
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Liberal Democrats spokesperson for Home Affairs
2006–2007
Succeeded by
Preceded by Leader of the Liberal Democrats
20072015
Succeeded by
Political offices
Vacant
Title last held by
John Prescott
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
2010–2015
Vacant
Title next held by
Dominic Raab
Preceded by Lord President of the Council
2010–2015
Succeeded by