‘Broken promises’ to city attacked

NICK Clegg and Harriet Harman have traded blows in the final days of local election campaigning after Labour’s Deputy Leader claimed the Liberal Democrats “don’t deserve” to be in control of Sheffield City Council any longer.

Ms Harman stoked up the contest by claiming people in the city had been “badly let down” by the Government because of spending cuts and coalition “broken promises”.

But Mr Clegg, whose Lib Dem party’s control of the council in Sheffield – where he is MP for the Hallam constituency – is hanging by a thread, accused her of “trying to fool people” into believing there is a pain-free way of dealing with the financial “mess” left behind by Labour.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The exchange came as Labour Leader Ed Miliband urged voters to punish the Government for “reckless” policies by kicking out Conservative and Lib Dem councillors tomorrow.

He released a dossier claiming David Cameron is pushing ahead with “divisive policies which the public did not vote for”.

Labour is hoping to make sweeping gains across Yorkshire, but is particularly keen to deliver a strong message on Mr Clegg’s home turf. The Lib Dems currently have 41 seats to Labour’s 40 – the Greens have two and there is one Independent – and with a third of all seats up for election their hold on power is slight.

Convinced that Mr Clegg’s popularity has slumped because the Lib Dems are perceived to have broken election promises such as by backing the tuition fees rise, Labour is targeting him personally and particularly highlighting the Government’s axing of the £80m loan to Sheffield Forgemasters.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ms Harman told the Yorkshire Post: “People are absolutely dismayed about how Nick Clegg could turn his back on Sheffield Forgemasters, sign up to a whole lot of policies from a Tory government which are hurting Sheffield and people feel absolutely dismayed and angry about that.

“I don’t think that they [the Lib Dems] deserve to be in charge of the council in a city they’ve so badly let down, especially since they’ve got their leader representing that city.”

But that brought an angry response from Mr Clegg, who was campaigning in Sheffield on Monday and has also been fighting for votes in Hull and York, where the Lib Dems are also fighting to cling on to power, and Bradford.

He admitted the Government’s programme of spending cuts made it “quite a tough battle” for the Lib Dems but claimed the party was also earning credit for influencing policies such as raising the income tax threshold and restoring the link between pensions and earnings.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Labour are trying to fool people into thinking somehow there’s a controversy-free way of dealing with the legacy of the mess they left behind,” he said.

He also accused Labour of “cynically” promising money to Forgemasters which they knew could not be afforded. The company recently said it was putting its nuclear expansion plans on hold and does not want to be used as a political football.

At a press conference yesterday, Mr Miliband said the Government should not be allowed to “go back to business as usual” after a moment of discomfort when the votes are counted, but should receive such a setback at the polls that they are forced to listen to the electorate’s concerns.

“I urge people to make it more than a moment of difficulty for David Cameron and Nick Clegg,” he said.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I urge people to deliver a verdict on the broken promises – both Conservative and Liberal Democrat – by voting Labour.”

Labour is expected to win hundreds of seats across the country, after losing its grip on councils during its time in Government.