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Nick Clegg's Eleven-Step Journey From Wanting 'Savage Cuts' To 'No Austerity Forever'

Clegg's Eleven-Step Journey From Wanting 'Savage Cuts' To More Spending
Asa Bennett
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Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Prime Minister David Cameron listen as leader of the opposition Ed Miliband speaks during a debate on the Queen's Speech in the House of Commons, London.
PA/PA Wire

Nick Clegg has promised that the Liberal Democrats will aim to stay in the political centre-ground, avoiding the Tory strategy of "austerity forever" and not being like Labour by ensuring "sound" finances.

Clegg's believability may have taken a hit after having his damaging tuition fees policy u-turn, which saw him make a public apology last year for making a promise he was unable to keep.

The Lib Dem leader's own stance on cuts has changed with near clockwork regularity, as he veered over the years between promising "savage" cuts to fretting about if "slashing and burning" could cause riots on the streets.

HuffPost UK brings you Clegg's austerity journey, in eleven simple steps.

Nick Clegg's austerity journey
18 September 2009: Britain needs 'savage cuts'(01 of10)
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Clegg started out talking tough, insisting that the Liberal Democrats would make "bold, or even savage" cuts to get the public deficit down.
23 September 2009: UK doesn't just need austerity(02 of10)
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Clegg doubled down on why Britain needs austerity, boasting that his party was the only one to "come clean" about why cuts were needed, describing his programme as ""not just austerity, but progressive austerity".
13 March 2010: Cuts would be 'economic masochism'(03 of10)
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"We think that merrily slashing now is an act of economic masochism," Clegg told his party's spring conference."If anyone had to rely on our support, and we were involved in government, of course we would say no."Clegg said this just two months before joining up with the Tories in coalition.
19 March 2010: Cuts would be 'economic masochism'(04 of10)
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Clegg poured scorn on the idea that a government could come to power making the "macho" promise to take "early, tough action' and "slash" spending. Even his Sheffield constituents would be outraged, Clegg said, warning: "People like that are going to say: "Who are these people telling us that they are are going to suddenly take our jobs away? What mandate do they have? I didn't vote for them. No one around here voted for them."
1 May 2010: Even Clegg Jr. knew why cuts were bad(05 of10)
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The Clegg family were all united against "savage cuts", with the Lib Dem leader proudly declaring: “My eight-year-old ought to be able to work this out – you shouldn’t start slamming on the brakes when the economy is barely growing.
23 May 2010: 'No-one went into politics to make cuts"(06 of10)
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Clegg starts to get defensive, insisting: "No one went into politics to seek to deliver cuts". However, he still thought the cuts "as a country" were "necessary".
16 September 2012: Clegg defends IDS' benefits cuts(07 of10)
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Clegg even came out to bat for Iain Duncan Smith and the coalition's welfare reforms, insisting that benefits should not "compensate the poor for their predicament".
8 May 2012: Clegg's cutting because he has to (08 of10)
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"You can't create growth on the shifting sands of debt," Clegg said, arguing that they "have" to be in coalition with the Tories.
24 January 2013: We should have spent more on building projects(09 of10)
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Clegg started to show regret about how deeply the coalition slashed spending, admitting: "I think we’ve all realised that you actually need, in order to foster a recovery, to try and mobilise as much public and private capital into infrastructure as possible."
9 June 2014: Clegg now tries to tempt Labour (10 of10)
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The Mail said that Clegg used his latest speech, promising more borrowing and no "austerity forever", to "flutter his eyelashes at Labour - and cast off the last vestige of his integrity".
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