Sketch: Angry delegates give leader a rough ride at Q&A

WHEN the Lib Dems’ image advisers look back on this conference, they may think it was not a great idea to tee up Nick Clegg’s Q&A session with a discussion on death in custody.

Certainly the black drapes in the hall added to the funereal feeling among party members who feel the coalition government prison is one that looks increasingly terminal.

But as the Deputy Prime Minister walked nervously on to the stage in his white open- necked shirt, he looked more like a best man who had turned up at the wrong wedding. Party members were in a mood to make him feel as uncomfortable as possible. “Why did it take you two years to apologise for breaking the tuition fee pledge?” was the first question.

“I’m not sure people would have listened to me two years ago,” he replied. “But it is something I am sorry about and I judged it was the right time.”

Delegates were desperate to ask follow-up questions, but the floor microphone failed. Mr Clegg may have regretted passing his to one though.

“It is not the fact we broke the pledge,” she said. “It was the fact that we were the party which wasn’t going to break promises and the first thing we did was break a promise.”

Then came a delegate who said he represented angry party members who had not turned up. “The economic policy is too right wing and you need to rein in Danny Alexander. He’s even more right-wing than Peter Osborne.”

“You might be confusing George Osborne with [columnist] Peter Oborne,” Mr Clegg said helpfully.