Clegg urges Labour: Join me to create an anti-Tory force

NICK Clegg last night urged Labour to join the Liberal Democrats in creating ‘a proper anti-Tory force’ after the election.

The former deputy prime minister, who led the Lib Dems into coalition in 2010, said the two parties ‘cannot continue with business as normal’.

Although Lib Dem leader Tim Farron has publicly ruled out any coalition with Jeremy Corbyn, Mr Clegg said they needed to ‘mount a proper challenge to Conservative hegemony’.

‘The Labour Party is still operating under this illusion that it can win an election – it can’t,’ he told the New Statesman.

‘It’s irrelevant who’s leader. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Jeremy Corbyn or David Miliband – there is no way that the Labour Party can beat the Conservatives under this electoral system … it’s impossible.’ Mr Clegg argued ‘we can’t continue with business-as-usual after June 8’ or the ‘pendulum of politics’ will remain stuck on the Right. ‘If we all just carry on talking to ourselves in our own rabbit hutches, all that will happen is we will carry on with this dreary, soulless, almost perpetual one-party domination by the Conserva-

tives,’ he said. ‘The dam needs to break within the Labour Party, and the moment they understand that they can never win again – that their days as a party of national government have ended – can you start thinking about how to mount a proper challenge to Conservative hegemony.’

Mr Clegg signalled his desire for an active role in future cooperation. ‘I am self-evidently a pluralist – why else would I go into coalition?’ he said.

‘I’ll always be happy to play my part in doing what I think is right, which is that we need a proper anti-Conservative force or forces in British politics.’

Theresa May has repeatedly argued there will be a ‘coalition of chaos’ if she is not returned to Number 10.