Watch as Nick Clegg faces an audience of Yorkshire Post readers

More reports in Saturday's Yorkshire Post

Ahead of a major speech on Monday where he will provide more detail on his party's plans to cut spending, he told Yorkshire Post readers that cutting in the wrong way could plunge the country into political and social chaos akin to the mass strikes and riots seen recently in Greece.

He particularly suggested there would be problems in areas like Sheffield - where he is an MP - if the Tories win power because the party has little support there.

"In South Yorkshire there is a higher percentage of public sector workers than anywhere in the country and there are no Conservative MPs or councillors as far as you can see," said Mr Clegg.

"People like that are going to say 'who are these people who are going to take our jobs away, what mandate do they have? I didn't vote for them, no-one round here voted for them.'

"I think if we want to avoid going down the direction of Greece where there is real social unrest that is the guaranteed way of doing it."

He lavished praise on the Canadian approach to major cuts in the 1990s, saying that by holding meetings across the country the public were more informed and accepted the tough measures.

"They understood that there were no alternatives and understood that a concerted and sincere attempt had been made to try and do it in the fairest possible way," he said. "This way they avoided strife and unrest."

Mr Clegg's quizzing by readers followed last week's appearance in Leeds by Tory leader David Cameron. Gordon Brown has been invited but has yet to confirm whether he will take part in a similar session.

On Monday he and the party's Treasury spokesman Vince Cable will give a speech at London's Stock Exchange fleshing out the party's plans for making cuts in a "sustainable" way.

During a 55-minute session Mr Clegg also called for a tax raid on holiday homes to be reconsidered, backed a level playing field for British hauliers and pledged to see off the British National Party.