Lib Dems 'not for sale', says Nick Clegg

Published on Tuesday 5 January 2010 21:15

LIBERAL Democrat leader Nick Clegg has said his party is "not for sale" as he rebuffed overtures from both Gordon Brown and David Cameron.

Leaders of Labour and the Tories have been trying to woo the Lib Dems in recent weeks as the polls point to the possibility of a hung parliament.

But Mr Clegg made clear he was not impressed by their "flirting".

He pledged to back the party with the largest mandate in the event of a hung parliament, but would not be drawn on whether this meant the party with the most seats or the party with the biggest share of the vote.

He said that the public rather than politicians would be the kingmakers, and he dismissed claims by the Tory leader that the differences with the Lib Dems had "narrowed".

"David Cameron and Gordon Brown are ostentatiously flirting with Liberal Democrat voters, clumsily trying to woo them – and by implication me and my fellow Liberal Democrat MPs," he said.

"I can promise voters wondering whether to put an 'X' against the Liberal Democrats that there are no backroom deals or under-the-counter 'understandings' with either of the other two parties.

"The Liberal Democrats are up for real change. We are not up for sale."

The Prime Minister said over the weekend that he could work in "harmony" with the third party, while his Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis, praised Mr Clegg as a "very capable leader".

Bookmaker Paddy Power cut its odds on a hung parliament from 5/2 to 9/4.