It will be seen by many as a way to chart his progress, although it is unlikely that the result will have much impact on the gargantuan task that still lies before him.

The Sheffield Hallam MP has endured a tough couple of months, firstly with criticism of his handling of the vote on the EU Constitution, and more recently, the now infamous GQ interview in which he professed to have slept with "no more than 30" women.

Whoever said "all publicity is good publicity" was probably not talking about politics when they said it. Both issues dominated his interview yesterday on the Today programme. Clegg could not escape.

The savaging Clegg has received in the media since his candid and slightly absent-minded interview have left him in hot water, but this perversely, offers potential for a real strategy in the future.

While his first 100 days as leader could hardly be acknowledged as a triumph, they were characterised by a safe, risk-free approach which has stabilised the Party's poll position and calmed the nerves which had become so frayed during the tenureship of Sir Menzies Campbell.

An impressive, well-received party conference speech, along with some political point scoring, has been central to his attempts to undermine the other parties. Yet this backfired when push has come to shove over the EU vote.

Clegg's underlying problem is that he is a man ridden with leadership self-doubt. He seems to lack the ability to trust his instincts, and has chosen to play the "political" cards instead of making the kinds of moves that could potentially make him an unique figure in UK politics.

Despite the immediate embarrassment and anger caused by his toe-curlingly frank GQ interview, he has finally got himself noticed, and has demonstrated a straight-talking honesty – a commodity that is remarkably absent in British politics today.

By putting such information out there, Clegg undoubtedly – and deservedly – opened himself to ridicule, but he has laid the foundations for the future, in which he can choose "truth" and "principle" as his buzzwords, and demonstrate to a cynical public that he is willing to be honest, despite the potential fallout.

With the local elections fast approaching, the time to cultivate such a persona is limited but Clegg must use the opportunity to tell the public how his Party really intend to improve local services, and precisely how its policy commitments would be financed.

Clegg must attempt to firmly position this fight locally, identifying the successes of recent times and using them as a platform on which to build further achievement. However, the Lib Dems must not be afraid to talk about its failures and how mistakes will not be repeated.

This could be the difference between success and failure in places like Sheffield where the public still harbour fears about the Party's ability to govern following the disastrous period of Lib Dem leadership between 1999 and 2002.

Clegg and his team have spent the last few months holding town hall meetings that have been well attended and have given his team real food for thought. However, Clegg must now start to turn some of the findings into a real local agenda, driven by a desire to be candid in which he places his trust in the public rather than a continuation of the half-hearted rhetoric about choice and the personalisation of services advocated by Labour and the Conservatives.

This election, and the months that follow, must be used by Clegg to define what voters can really expect from him. He must now accept that his Party cannot be successful at the kind of political pointscoring which currently pre-occupies Labour and the Conservatives, as the Lib Dems lack the resources and are not as well equipped to use the media to their advantage.

In this country, we have become laden with cynicism about our politicians' ability to be honest with us and by their inability to answer questions. I suspect we wouldn't know how to respond if a key politician answered a question without trying to justify their answer before they have even given it.

Clegg could – and should – be that man. If not, he should remember that in politics bad publicity is rarely good publicity. Out of sight is almost always out of mind and to be in the news for playing it safe is all good.

Yet, as George Orwell once said: "In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act".


Adam Davison, form Leeds, is a political analyst and former Parliamentary adviser to Phil Willis, the Harrogate MP.