New Lib Dem leader in pledge to take politics to the people

The 40-year-old took the crown with 20,988 votes, while his rival, Chris Huhne, 53, scored 20,477.

To cheers from supporters, Mr Clegg said: "We must start acting like the growing political force that we are. I want today to mark the beginning of a real change in Britain; the beginning of Britain's liberal future."

He said he wanted a "people's politics" and to take the debate outside the "Westminster village freak show".

His leadership would be about "renewed ambition for the Lib Dems, renewed ambition to reach out to the millions of people who I know share our instincts and values but do not yet vote for us".

The MP for Sheffield Hallam, who had been the party's home affairs spokesman, said: "My election as leader today marks a new beginning."

The Scotsman understands Mr Clegg has been studying politicians around the world, particularly practitioners of "extreme democracy" in which leaders try to connect with grassroots supporters.

He has pledged a series of town-hall meetings across the country and

is modelling himself on the leadership style of lvaro Uribe, the president of Colombia, who forces his cabinet out of the capital, Bogot, at weekends and holds meetings in remote areas, listening to the concerns of ordinary people.

For his first visit to "real Britain", Mr Clegg has chosen a sixth-form college in a white, working-class area of London, but he will travel outside the capital in the weeks ahead.

The former MEP said Labour and the Tories were "mutating" into each other, and he urged disaffected voters to join the Lib Dems, saying he wanted to "provide a liberal alternative to the discredited politics of big government".

Mr Clegg also praised Mr Huhne, and said he looked forward to working with him. A reshuffle of the front-bench team is expected tomorrow.

Mr Huhne, who has been the environment spokesman, said: "I look forward to participating as part of Nick's team to make sure the party goes from strength to strength."

The new leader was swiftly fted by the party's elder statesmen. Mr Clegg's predecessor, Sir Menzies Campbell, said: "Nick Clegg has the drive and imagination and energy to take this party forward. The torch has passed to a new political generation and he is one of the most well-qualified people I can think of to take that torch forward."

Former leader Charles Kennedy said: "The great thing now is that we have a leader who is coming in at the mid-term of a parliament who has the time and the space to establish himself over 18 months or two years. That is ideal for the party."

Lord Paddy Ashdown, another former leader, who publicly backed Mr Clegg's candidacy, hailed the victorious contender's comments as "the best party leader's acceptance speech I have ever heard".

Simon Hughes, the Lib Dem president, said: "This was clearly a very close election and a very exciting election, but, in the end, I am clear that Nick will make a really excellent and dynamic leader."

Nicol Stephen, the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said he was looking forward to a visit from Mr Clegg.

"During the campaign Nick made a significant number of visits to Scotland and knows for himself how well the party has been doing in the opinion polls north of the Border in the last few months," he said.

CLEAR LEADERSHIP QUALITIES… BUT FOR HOW LONG?

HIS fresh-faced appeal has already been tipped to be his undoing. For Nick Clegg, being telegenic was close to being a weakness rather than a strength among party members, who rejected the too-perfect candidate being thrust on them as leader.

The 40-year-old is a Westminster novice, but is a skilled communicator. Like his rival, Chris Huhne, Mr Clegg has been an MP only since 2005, when he won the Sheffield Hallam seat. He was pinpointed as leadership material early on by Paddy Ashdown, the then leader of the Liberal Democrats. Mr Clegg was working in Brussels for Sir Leon Brittan, the European Commissioner and a former Conservative minister, and became an MEP in 1999.

After swapping Brussels for Westminster, he was given a front-bench job when Sir Menzies Campbell became leader last year, as home affairs spokesman.

He had an early stint as a journalist after studying anthropology at Cambridge University in the late 1980s. He went on to complete an MA in European affairs at the College of Europe in Bruges.

Of Dutch and Russian extraction, Mr Clegg speaks five languages, is married to Miriam Gonzlez Durntez, a Spaniard, and has two young sons. He comes from a relatively privileged background, having studied at the private Westminster School.

The biggest influence on his politics was his Dutch mother, Hermance van den Wall Bake, who was imprisoned by the Japanese during the Second World War in Jakarta.

The only controversial episode exposed from his past so far occurred when he was a teenage exchange student in Germany. He and a friend torched two greenhouses full of rare cacti. Mr Clegg had to carry out community service and is credited with nearly wiping out several endangered species.

The keen mountaineer and skier already has a steep hill to climb: bookmakers have quoted odds of 4/1 on him being in charge of the Lib Dems for less time than Sir Menzies.