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
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.
General Election 2015: The alternative power list
General Election 2015: The alternative power list
1/19 Rick Edwards
He gave a TED talk last summer, in which he gave suggestions for how politicians could get under-24s to become passionate about drawing a cross next to a candidate's name.
2/19 Ant and Dec
Ant McPartlin said: “I voted Labour all my life but last election I voted Tory because I was thoroughly disillusioned with the Labour government. Now I'm thoroughly disillusioned with a coalition government.
”I feel we're both staunchly Labour and would vote Labour if we could, but I don't know what their philosophy is any more.“
Declan Donnelly added: ”I'm not sure I could picture him [Ed Miliband] as prime minister.“
3/19 Cheryl Fernandez-Versini
Fernandez-Versini, who normally supports the Labour party, told the Telegraph: "I’ve always been Labour all my life but I want to hear what [the other parties have] got to say for myself. Now that I’m a mature woman."
4/19 Jack Monroe
In 2014, Monroe was mired in controversy after saying that David Cameron uses "stories about his dead son as misty-eyed rhetoric to legitimise selling our NHS". Her contract blogging for Sainsbury's was not renewed.
5/19 Armando Iannucci
A supporter of the Liberal Democrats in the 2010 election, Iannucci has said he doesn't know who to back this time around, but has been critical of the Tory party's attempted takedown of the SNP.
6/19 Simon Cowell
7/19 Harry Leslie Smith
Smith, who was invited to speak at Labour Party Conference in 2014, has 32,000 followers and published a book - Harry's Last Stand - in which he outlines the danger of privatisation.
As the most cursory of glances at his Twitter feed will tell you, he really doesn't like the Tory Party.
8/19 Eddie Izzard
Izzard has said he will stand as the Labour candidate for Mayor of London in 2020 and has been a party donor since 1998. During the 2015 campaign, he has been dismissive of what he believes is the Conservative party flaunting their wealth by erecting giant billboards.
9/19 Al Murray the Pub Landlord
10/19 Russell Brand
Brand's YouTube channel The Trews has prompted debate, and he hit back at David Cameron describing him as a joke, saying that he didn't think there was anything funny about the Tories cutting public services.
11/19 Joey Essex
12/19 Robin Grey – aka David Cameron’s favourite busker
That ukulele player was Robin Grey. He told The Independent: "I started singing it ('f*** off back to Eton') [and] I was like, that's a bit crass, I thought I could do better than that. But I just kept on going, because it was coming from the heart."
13/19 Steph & Dom from Gogglebox
While the couple never expressed their political allegiances, they managed to humanise Farage even more, and we can't exactly see them voting Green at the polls.
14/19 Royal baby
15/19 Myleene Klass
16/19 Madonna
17/19 Martin Freeman
18/19 Gary Barlow
19/19 Caitlin Moran
1/19 Rick Edwards
He gave a TED talk last summer, in which he gave suggestions for how politicians could get under-24s to become passionate about drawing a cross next to a candidate's name.
2/19 Ant and Dec
Ant McPartlin said: “I voted Labour all my life but last election I voted Tory because I was thoroughly disillusioned with the Labour government. Now I'm thoroughly disillusioned with a coalition government.
”I feel we're both staunchly Labour and would vote Labour if we could, but I don't know what their philosophy is any more.“
Declan Donnelly added: ”I'm not sure I could picture him [Ed Miliband] as prime minister.“
3/19 Cheryl Fernandez-Versini
Fernandez-Versini, who normally supports the Labour party, told the Telegraph: "I’ve always been Labour all my life but I want to hear what [the other parties have] got to say for myself. Now that I’m a mature woman."
4/19 Jack Monroe
In 2014, Monroe was mired in controversy after saying that David Cameron uses "stories about his dead son as misty-eyed rhetoric to legitimise selling our NHS". Her contract blogging for Sainsbury's was not renewed.
5/19 Armando Iannucci
A supporter of the Liberal Democrats in the 2010 election, Iannucci has said he doesn't know who to back this time around, but has been critical of the Tory party's attempted takedown of the SNP.
6/19 Simon Cowell
7/19 Harry Leslie Smith
Smith, who was invited to speak at Labour Party Conference in 2014, has 32,000 followers and published a book - Harry's Last Stand - in which he outlines the danger of privatisation.
As the most cursory of glances at his Twitter feed will tell you, he really doesn't like the Tory Party.
8/19 Eddie Izzard
Izzard has said he will stand as the Labour candidate for Mayor of London in 2020 and has been a party donor since 1998. During the 2015 campaign, he has been dismissive of what he believes is the Conservative party flaunting their wealth by erecting giant billboards.
9/19 Al Murray the Pub Landlord
10/19 Russell Brand
Brand's YouTube channel The Trews has prompted debate, and he hit back at David Cameron describing him as a joke, saying that he didn't think there was anything funny about the Tories cutting public services.
11/19 Joey Essex
12/19 Robin Grey – aka David Cameron’s favourite busker
That ukulele player was Robin Grey. He told The Independent: "I started singing it ('f*** off back to Eton') [and] I was like, that's a bit crass, I thought I could do better than that. But I just kept on going, because it was coming from the heart."
13/19 Steph & Dom from Gogglebox
While the couple never expressed their political allegiances, they managed to humanise Farage even more, and we can't exactly see them voting Green at the polls.
14/19 Royal baby
15/19 Myleene Klass
16/19 Madonna
17/19 Martin Freeman
18/19 Gary Barlow
19/19 Caitlin Moran
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.
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