David Cameron and Nick Clegg ‘nearly came to blows’ when the then-Lib Dem leader demanded Parliament oversee the Press or he’d ‘f*** up’ the rest of their coalition’s plans, book reveals
- David Cameron and Nick Clegg worked together in coalition from 2010
- But new book reveals they frequently argued behind the scenes
- Cameron says they ‘nearly came to blows’ over the issue of press regulation
David Cameron and Nick Clegg ‘nearly came to blows’ when the two leaders behind the coalition government clashed over press regulation, the former PM’s new book reveals.
The then Tory and Lib Dem leaders appeared all smiles as they formed the coalition government in 2010, after Cameron failed to win a majority of seats in the election.
But behind the scenes, their relationship was fractured and, Cameron’s new book shows, they often clashed on policy.
David Cameron and Nick Clegg appeared happy together in the coalition government, but behind the scenes they nearly came to blows, Cameron’s new book reveals
The two politicians pictured laughing with their wives, but the two party leaders clashed over press regulation and boundary changes, among other things
Their most furious row came after the Leveson Inquiry, where retired judge Sir Brian Leveson recommended a ‘statutory underpinning’ to new press regulator, which critics said would effectively put Parliament in charge of the Press.
Cameron was opposed to the idea, insisting he did not want to end the hundreds-year-old tradition of free speech and a free press in England.
But Clegg was determined to see the controversial recommendations pushed through and threatened to scupper the coalition if he did not get his way.
Cameron writes in his new book: ‘As Sir Oliver Letwin points out, it was strange to see a Lib Dem leader defending the conservative principle of personal privacy while the Conservative leader was standing for the liberal principle of keeping the press free from statutory regulation.’
The pair clashed in March 2013, when Clegg confronted Cameron and barked: ‘You have to realise that no piece of legislation matters as much to me as this, and I am prepared to f*** up all the legislation in order to get what I want on this,’ the book states.
Cameron wrote: ‘It was the only time we nearly came to blows, and staff outside raised their eyebrows as they heard shouting inside my office.’
Mr Cameron said that, despite the rows, he had to keep the coalition going an avoid an election
The book reveals the pair also went head to head over the issue of constituency boundaries, a review of which was scotched by Clegg in 2012.
Cameron writes of the disagreement: ‘I felt cheated by him. Here was this reasonable, decent person I had worked with over two years being disingenuous and – frankly – dishonourable.’
Despite the arguments between the two, the coalition continued until the next General Election in 2015, where the Tories won an overall majority.
Of the coalition’s endurance, Mr Cameron wrote: ‘While I was fuming, I also knew I had to get over it. What was the alternative? Collapse the government and hold an election, which we would probably lose?’
Source: Read Full Article