Liverpool Wavertree: Clegg visit overshadowed
Liverpool Wavertree: Clegg visit overshadowed
By Chris Bradley
Nick Clegg took centre stage in Wavertree yesterday in a final bid to win the seat for the Liberal Democrats, but revelations about his candidate’s owing the tax payer £80,000 have rocked the campaign.
Mr Clegg visited the Frontline Church and delivered a speech to a 300-strong crowd reinforcing the Lib Dem message of a ‘fairer Britain’, and he took questions from local people on cancer treatment, fox hunting, taxation, tuition fees, Afghanistan and immigration.
The constituency has seen a controversial battle between Labour and the Lib Dems, with rows ranging from Labour candidate Luciana Berger’s lack of local knowledge to the latest revelations of Lib Dem Colin Eldridge’s former business collapse owing £80,000 to the tax payer.
Mr Clegg defended Mr Eldridge: “Colin had nothing to do with the decision to liquidate the company and it’s a sign of how desperate and nasty Labour become when they are on the ropes in Liverpool.”
As the question and answer session began inside the church, Mr Clegg was in high spirits.
He said he was the “fair choice” for Britain and lambasted Labour and the Conservatives for their “arrogant belief” they “have the right to play pass the parcel with your government”.
After Mr Clegg left, Liverpool Labour leader Joe Anderson, who created a website;’Comecleancolin.co.uk,’ to expose the “hypocrisy, double standards and dishonesty” of the Lib Dem candidate, demanded Mr Eldridge tell all about his business past.
Mr Anderson said: “There’s no harm in having a company that fails, but the issue for me is it looks as though he tried to cover it up.”
