Hypocracy at its highest

In an article in the Daily Mail Thursday 7/11/2013 it is reported that Nick Clegg attacked

Jeremy Paxman for his boast that he does not vote, saying that it is a ‘total abdication of responsibility’ from someone who earns £1million for sneering at politics.

The Deputy Prime Minister tore into the Newsnight presenter for ‘turning his back’ on democracy while being paid a large salary by the taxpayer.

Mr Clegg suggested Mr Paxman risked undermining the election process by dismissing all politicians as 'rogues and charlatans' instead of properly holding them to account.

Clegg launched the outspoken attack on the BBC star during his weekly broadcast on LBC,  for claiming he finds the crop of politicians so ‘unappetising’ he could not be bothered to vote.

The Lib Dem leader said he had an ‘old-fashioned view’ that anyone unhappy with politics should ‘get stuck in’ and change things not sneer from the sidelines.

‘Do you know what, politics isn’t perfect. But at the end of the day it’s the way we decide how you pay your taxes, how we support our hospitals, our schools, whether we go to war or not, how we deal with climate change.’


LETTER FROM Nick Clegg,MP. Deputy Prime Minister

Dear XXXXXXX

Thank you for contacting Nick Clegg MP about the voting rights of expatriates. I am replying on his behalf.

Nick appreciates that there are some British expatriates who have lived abroad for over 15 years and who want to vote in British elections. However, as you may know, Nick supports the existing legislation on this issue, including the removal of the right to vote after 15 years of living abroad. If a Briton has settled in another country, it is intuitive that they would know about and be directly affected by the issues of that country. If they want to become politically active, then they ought to register to vote in the country they have settled in.

Thank you for contacting Nick on this important issue.

Best wishes,

Rory Belcher

Office of Nick Clegg MP