Analysis: Clegg's victory
Big win for Nick Clegg
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A press conference scheduled between Gordon Brown and Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari has been cancelled shortly after the prime minister's arrival in Islamabad, reports suggest.
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Barack Obama doesn't usually have time to give Gordon Brown advice about how to be a good politician. That's a shame, as his handy hints made a huge difference on the floor of the Commons. |  |
Wednesday, 29, Apr 2009 12:00
By Alex Stevenson
The Liberal Democrats have won a vote in the House of Commons. This is not supposed to happen.
It's no surprise there were gasps of disbelief when the government was handed its first defeat on an opposition motion ever.
With hindsight the signs were all there to be read. Today's prime minister's questions was dominated by the issue of whether Gurkha veterans deserved the right to live in Britain. An early day motion contained the signatures of over 50 Labour MPs.
Even minutes before the vote, however, Lib Dems couldn't quite bring themselves to believe what seemed possible – a government defeat on their motion.
Let there be no mistake. This is Nick Clegg's day.
The Lib Dem leader first brought the issue to PMQs a year ago, when he brandished the medal of a disenchanted Gurkha veteran.
After a high court victory for campaigners led by Joanna Lumley it seemed the government would have to give in.
Instead the proposals they unveiled last week proved a bitter disappointment. Immigration minister Phil Woolas estimated around 4,000 Gurkhas would be made eligible for settlement rights. Campaigners claimed the qualifying requirements – 20 years' service, a war wound or medal for gallantry among them – meant only around 100 would benefit.
Such was the frustration with this response that, less than a week later, Mr Woolas finds himself humiliated by the Commons majority.
And it's all down to Clegg, who has unquestionably notched up his biggest single achievement since becoming leader of his party.
This is not, in the wider scheme of things, a huge victory for the Lib Dems.
The government has not just been forced to abandon its nuclear deterrent. We still have a mountain of public debt to deal with in the next decade. No one will be forced to resign.
But it matters to the Gurkhas affected and it matters even more, in political terms, for the Lib Dems.
The party has proved that it can make a difference on the national stage. It's been the curse of Britain's third party that they have to continually justify their existence. Today they did what dozens of Tory opposition days have failed to do – make a difference.
It was no coincidence that, standing outside the Commons, it was Clegg who spoke first and not Cameron (note: the leader of the opposition). The man who, according to the polls, is on track to become the next prime minister was reduced to second fiddle.
One man will be affected more than any other.
However much it was a triumph for Clegg, it was a disaster for Gordon Brown. It's a clear indication of his waning authority that backbench rebels felt sufficiently secure to deny a three-line whip with impunity.
Today's vote raises the stakes for tomorrow's vote on MP expenses. If it is rejected, even with the sting of the daily attendance rate removed, Brown's crumbling position could dissolve quickly. It's the prime minister who is paying the biggest price for Clegg's coup.