5 Days to Power by Wilson Rob

Author:Wilson, Rob [Wilson, Rob]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Biteback
Published: 2010-11-22T05:00:00+00:00

Cameron meets Clegg

The first meeting between Clegg and Cameron was supposed to be a low-key affair, in that they did not want a media circus and that they wanted to set the tone (rather than the media) of how the meeting went. Clegg left his Federal Executive meeting early and Special Branch protection made sure that he arrived undetected having given the media the slip by changing cars in Marsham Street. Cameron was also able to leave Conservative HQ undetected via the underground car park, carefully chaperoned by Special Branch.

Clegg arrived first, accompanied by his ever-present aide Alison Suttie, shortly ahead of Cameron and Ed Llewellyn. When the two men met on their own in a small room but with comfortable chairs, Cameron was the more relaxed, in casual clothes having had a quiet day. For Clegg it had been a long day with endless meetings with his party, endless explanations and talking about scenarios; he was therefore dressed in his business suit.

Both men agree the meeting was ‘very relaxed’. They were comfortable together as both men are by nature charming and good-natured. There was laughter as the two compared notes on their method of arrival and the absurdity of events.

There was a serious edge to their discussions, though. Clegg reported back that he was having a certain amount of difficulty with his party, as the leader had run the gauntlet of opinion within his party throughout the day. Ex-leaders, members of the ‘shadow Cabinet’, disgruntled and not-so-disgruntled MPs and the Federal Executive had taken their opportunity to ‘advise’ their leader. For Clegg, party democracy felt a heavy load on Saturday evening, when meeting a leader who had not had to go through the sheer scale and drudgery of consulting that he had.

The things Clegg wanted in any form of coalition deal rarely changed over the negotiation sessions ahead: the four areas of his manifesto. But Cameron was clear also about what he wanted and where he could not make compromises. Cameron felt that he was in the stronger position of the two men. Although the Conservatives had not won the election outright, the party had the moral mandate to govern of all the parties. The election had been a disappointment to Clegg, as despite the additional votes he had lost seats.

The two leaders were weighing each other up, but also weighing up whether a coalition could work or whether it would be better to look to a confidence and supply deal. Nick Clegg said: ‘For me it was important to tell him in very unambiguous terms, and I think likewise for him, about what was possible and explain there were four big areas of the manifesto that were very, very important to me. I also wanted to explain how my party thought and explore the different options of supply and confidence and coalition.’

As the civil servants and party aides milled around outside, good progress was made in the talks. The personal chemistry was surprisingly good, even though the two men did not know each other that well.

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