Election 2015: We will bring a heart to a Tory Government and a brain to a Labour one

As part of i's election special, Nick Clegg gives you his final pitch

Nick Clegg speaking to a friendly crowd

Tomorrow, you face one of the biggest political decisions of your life. The stakes could not be higher. Our economic recovery is at risk. Our shared British values of tolerance, generosity and respect for others are under threat. And our United Kingdom is at risk of being pulled apart.

Everybody knows that no one is going to win this election outright – even if David Cameron and Ed Miliband won’t admit it. So what really matters is who they have by their side in Government.

Ask yourself this: do you want Nigel Farage walking through the door of No 10? Do you want Alex Salmond sat at the Cabinet table? Or do you want me and the Liberal Democrats?

Without enough Liberal Democrat MPs to keep the next Government safe, stable and fair, either Ed Miliband or David Cameron will be left to run a messy and unstable minority Government, dependent on the SNP on the one hand or Ukip and the DUP on the other.

We will bring a heart to a Conservative Government and a brain to a Labour one. The Liberal Democrats will always put the good of the country first and provide stability and fairness, just as we have done for the last five years. That means ensuring three things: stability, decency and unity.

Look at what happened to those countries where they didn’t bring stability to the economy. Huge cuts to the public sector. A crisis for young people. In Greece and Spain, half of all young people are still unemployed. That could have been us.

That’s why I will never apologise for putting country before party and bringing stability to our country. Stability means not risking your job or our economy. It means not slashing the schools, hospitals and public services you rely on. And it means not letting the Government lurch away to the extremes with excessive cuts or reckless borrowing.

The Britain I want us to be is the open-hearted, open-minded, tolerant country that we are when we are at our best. But there is nothing decent about making the next generation pay for the mistakes of this one, as Labour will. There is nothing decent about penalising the most vulnerable people in our society, as the Conservatives will. And there is nothing decent about blaming foreigners and immigrants for all our ills, as Ukip does.

The Liberal Democrats will always stand up for unity against those who seek to pull us apart. We won’t divide our communities, like Ukip. We won’t divide our society, like the Conservatives. And we won’t rip our country apart, like the SNP.

I want a Britain where, no matter what your background, you have the opportunity to reach your potential. A Britain that remains an open-minded, open-hearted, generous country. A Britain with a stronger economy and a fairer society; where we can finish the job of balancing the books, but do it fairly; where we can invest in education and the NHS; where we can cut taxes for millions of working people and give a fair deal to our public sector workers; and where we can protect our environment for future generations.

Only the Liberal Democrats can make sure the next government keeps Britain on track. Every Liberal Democrat MP makes Labour’s reckless borrowing less likely. Every Liberal Democrat MP makes George Osborne’s ideological cuts less likely. And every Liberal Democrat MP is a barrier between Nigel Farage and Alex Salmond and the door to 10 Downing Street. Every Liberal Democrat vote and every Liberal Democrat MP will be dedicated to building a stable economy, a decent society and a united country.