Day 108, Nick Clegg's leaflet

I've read and digested a recent leaflet from the Lib Dems from my MP Nick Clegg.  There are some notes below which are inline with the the words of the leaflet.

At no point does he tell us about any of the things he has succeeded at for Sheffield or the country as a whole while in government in coalition with the Tories. Surely if you are trying to bid for people’s votes you would be clear about the good things you have done?

He doesn't say anything new, and in fact goes over the same old ground.  The number of times Clegg has had the flimsy claims he makes rebutted over the last few years is staggering, yet he still persists.  It’s as if he has no interest in the actual facts of any of the claims and is just an opportunity to sling mud at the opposition - if you say it often enough people will believe it.

Is it the case that he has done absolutely nothing of any value?  His only campaign tactic appears to be negative, misrepresenting and using subjective trigger language whenever possible.  Does he actually have anything constructive to say or is he just the hollow man.

Clegg is treating his electorate as chumps, making emotional statements rather than specific and factual ones. Where he does refer to actual events they are manipulated to reflect badly on others and contain nothing substantial.

The text of the leaflet is highlighted below.  I'm afraid I've gone on at some length, but the cheek of the man beggars belief and somewhat wound me up.

The leaflet after being recovered from the recycling

Are you as angry as I am about the way Labour have wasted your money?

How angry are you Nick?  Give me a clue and I'll let you know.  He starts with a rhetorical question to lead into this - "Labour have wasted your money" - That's an assumption isn't it, you've begged the question, made the decision before presenting any evidence.  He must present something to back this claim up, let's see.

Labour bosses on Sheffield City Council are spending £1.2 million on a plush makeover for council offices and £500,000 on full time union officials - as well as wasting your money on pet projects in their favoured areas.  All this at the same time as failing to collect the £39 million they are owed in uncollected council tax.

"Labour bosses" - Interesting language, 'bosses' carries a certain divisive 'us and them' quality, obviously he wants to avoid the word 'leaders' which is what he is talking about.

"£1.2m on a plush makeover" - Misleading and emotive language again. It isn't like that is it, this is the same claim made in 2013 that was proved factually incorrect.  This was money spent on the Town Hall to keep the building safe and in reasonable condition.  The Town Hall, a listed building, had work carried out on exterior stone work, leaking roofs, electrical safety and lift maintenance.  All of this being basic maintenance and all that information is in the public domain so why spin it this way?

"£500,000 on full-time union officials" - These are required to undertake statutory duties and are a common role across councils nationwide, the number varies due to size of local council.  Why is this a specific issue, is it an attempt to suggest that this is some form of underhand activity?

"wasting your money on pet projects in their favoured areas" - More subjective language designed to get people on-side.  He leaves the specifics of the pet projects to your own imagination so you can blame Labour for whatever local issue winds you up, no matter how inaccurate.  This sort of cheap, manipulative shot crops up often in Lib Dem leaflets.

"£39m council tax" - Local councils across the country have a percentage rate of collection in the high 90s, a much higher efficiency than national government has at collecting tax. While there is always a rolling amount of arrears the amount eventually collected in Sheffield is about 99% of due council tax, this is as high or higher than other councils - However, recent government cuts to council tax benefit have meant there has been a rise in the amount to be collected from those on low incomes.  As a consequence of this the usual collection rate has dropped due to an increase in the number of defaulters, this is the case for all councils across the country regardless of political control.  So part of the responsibility for this lie with changes made by Mr Clegg and his coalition government.

After 13 years of Blair and Brown, Labour left Britain’s economy on the verge of collapse, the NHS is a mess and taxes hiked for those who could least afford it.

"Labour left Britain's economy on the verge of collapse" - The financial crash and damage to the economy was created by the global banking crisis, this is not disputed by anyone other than those wishing to make cheap political capital by taking advantage of people in the hope that they won't notice.

"NHS is a mess" - If we take the words at face value then it's thanks to you and your Government starving it of funds Mr Clegg in a bid to get people on the side of privatisation.  Why not be specific and use less subjective language then maybe we could have a debate about the NHS and it being ranked the best in the world by an international panel of experts last year.

"taxes hiked for those that could least afford it" - Absolutely, those who can least afford it have been hit very hard by Clegg and his coalition government.  Not sure why he is putting this one at the door of Labour, and who he is aiming this at?  His constituency has far fewer residents that fall into the category of "those who could least afford it" than any other constituency in the country.  Sheffield Hallam is the wealthiest constituency in the North and for example it has the lowest level of child poverty in the UK (joint 1st at 9% with west Aberdeen and Kincardineshire).

It’s no wonder people are still angry at Labour’s mess.

"people are still angry at Labour's mess" - He makes the assumption that we are angry at some non-specific 'mess' that he hasn't defined at any point other than when he has been misrepresenting and deliberately misreporting.  I resent this assumption, I might be angry with Labour for many reasons but I am 100% certain what those reasons are and they are not this hogwash and sleight of hand that Clegg is dishing out.

Yes there’s a real risk that Labour could win again.

Clegg presents the idea that if he isn't voted for then Labour could win nationally.  Obviously he's scared of losing his seat, whether that would result in a Labour win is doubtful.  Sheffield Hallam is one single constituency, albeit with the sitting MP being hand in hand with a Tory government and where he has done an about face on all the warm words he offered before the last election. "I agree with Nick" turned to ashes in people's mouths pretty quickly.  He's more scared about losing his seat than he is a principled politician who is prepared to stand by his views.

Elections in the Sheffield Hallam constituency are between the Liberal Democrats and Labour.

Amazing, he's actually said something that doesn't have spin, is clear and not at all misleading.

At this point he has now shifted his focus away from negative campaigning, smearing and mud-slinging.

The Conservatives haven’t elected an MP here since 1992.

He's on a roll now, this is an actual fact that no Tory has been elected since 1992.  Unless you count Clegg, who has voted with the Tories throughout the life of this parliament, how is he different from having a Conservative MP?

The recent poll put the Conservatives and UKIP in distant third and fourth places.  They can’t win round here - and a vote for the Conservatives of UKIP will help Labour to sneak in.

"The recent poll" - a vague "recent poll", this seems likely although he doesn't say which poll.  I wonder why he didn't indicate what was happening in first and second place or mention 'recent polls' about his personal approval rating.

"sneak in" - again the use of language trying to imply something underhand on the part of Labour and also implying that Labour are a somewhat indeterminate distance behind, this amounts to 'please don't give the Tories or UKIP a protest vote otherwise'...

If you don’t want Labour to win after the mess they made of things, then make it count and vote Lib Dem.

The non-specific "mess" again, honestly, if they made that much of a mess why is it so hard to find something concrete to say?  Is it that anything more specific that has been said by Clegg publicly has been rebutted?

Local people know that Councillor Rob Frost and the local Liberal Democrat team work hard, keep in touch and get things done.  Most people I speak to would much rather have a Liberal Democrat Councillor and MP than a Labour one.

"Local people know" - I'm a local person, I don't know that, unless you mean they are the creator and delivery team of differently designed leaflets week after week.  Some of these leaflets designed as if to fool people into thinking they are free local newspapers with an unexpectedly political stance.  Other than that I've not seen them or heard of anyone that knows of what they have done.

"Most people I speak to" - These must be either his Lib Dem colleagues or Tories that expect the Lib Dems to support them after the election.  Clegg has been conspicuous by his absence in Hallam.  He has demonstrated a lack of contact with and avoidance of members of his own constituency to match that of a champion player of hide and seek.  Any appearance in the constituency has been under great secrecy.  Those wishing to attend such meetings have to apply for invites (and vetting?) before being given details of the secret location somewhere in the area...

Your vote could be the one that decides it.

Even he occasionally has to say something that can't be disputed.

Best wishes.

Nick Clegg MP, your local Liberal Democrat MP

P.S. Voting Conservative or UKIP in May will help Labour.  The last thing our area needs is another Labour politician.  I need your support to make sure Labour don’t sneak in round here.

We've moved on to the 'wrapping up section' where all the earlier unsubstantiated points are reiterated. Here a reiteration of the mealy mouthed language he used earlier, "sneak" .

The choice in our area: Nick Clegg MP and a Lib Dem team with a strong record of fighting for us. OR Labour - who crashed the economy and have a record of wasting your money.

The Conservatives and UKIP are out of the race. Voting for them just helps Labour.

"The choice in our area: Nick Clegg MP" - His record for Sheffield is shameful, when he has voted it has been with the Tories more than 99% of the time over the life of this parliament.  There are probably Tory backbenchers that rebelled against their own party more often than he has, effectively he is a Tory.

"Labour - who crashed the economy" - Again, a reiteration of the factually incorrect, points that he cannot make stick and when questioned about he vacillates and twists the subject on to a minor point to hope to mislead on the major points. Shameless.

"The Conservatives and UKIP are out of the race" - More reiteration. Again 'don't protest vote, please, I might lose', if only he'd not thought about himself and his ambition and had actually believed in the principles he projected to the electorate, did he ever believe any of that?

So did he back any of his claims up? Of course not.