Lib Dems not for sale says Clegg as he snubs suitors

The leader of the Liberal Democrats said yesterday his party was "not for sale" as he accused both main rivals of trying to woo his voters.

Nick Clegg said there were "no backroom deals or under-the-counter understandings" with either Labour or the Tories.

His comments follow perceived olive branches offered to the Lib Dems by both Labour and the Tories in recent weeks amid predictions the poll could deliver a hung parliament – leaving Mr Clegg in a crucial "kingmaker" role.

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Gordon Brown said this week that the Liberals were "closer to us on tax and public services", while last month David Cameron said there was "a lot less disagreement than there used to be" between his party and the Lib Dems.

But Mr Clegg said: "David Cameron and Gordon Brown are ostentatiously flirting with Liberal Democrat voters, clumsily trying to woo them – and by implication me and my fellow Liberal Democrat MPs.

"This year's general election is likely to be the most open and unpredictable in a generation. So you have a right to know where we stand. I can promise voters wondering whether to put an "X" against the Liberal Democrats that there are no backroom deals or under-the-counter "understandings" with either of the other two parties."

The Lib Dem leader said his party had been in tune with the British public on many issues, citing opposition to the Iraq war, civil liberties, the environment, the excesses of the City and rights for Gurkha veterans.

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He added: "We are, and have shown ourselves to be, very different from the other two parties. My message to Mr Brown and Mr Cameron is simple: the Liberal Democrats are up for real change. We are not up for sale."

Mr Clegg did, however, appear to leave some room for negotiation in the event of a hung parliament. He said: "If voters decide that no party deserves an overall majority, then self-evidently the party with the strongest mandate will have a moral right to be the first to seek to govern on its own or, if it chooses, to seek alliances with other parties."