Out of control

At first sight, the thorny subject of Control Orders does not suggest itself as productive ground for the reinvention of Nick Clegg. When the PM’s official spokesman said there had been "broad agreement" among ministers over the proposals at a recent cabinet meeting but that there were “still further processes to go through”, the impression given was that the Lib Dem leader would bend and it was only the degree of tilt which was yet to be determined.

Clegg’s people have been busily briefing selected journalists on how the deal “delivers on the pledge” to scrap control orders albeit with caveats which sustain a strong surveillance ethos and which is bound to upset party activists. Aides patiently and authoritatively explain the impracticality involved in the removal of a special judicial regime for terrorism suspects. The effect is ruined however when someone unhelpfully asks why these ‘impracticalities’ were not so apparent before the election.

An interesting aspect of these briefings is the undisguised emphasis given to 'differences of opinion' when Clegg met with David Cameron and home secretary Theresa May last week. The consensus is that these references signal the deputy PM (and/or his advisors) have accepted the necessity to draw a much sharper distinction between political coalition and coalescence ; if only in the minds of the punters.

Only a few months ago, little real credence was given to seditious Lib Dem elements such as the backbencher who commented on the widening gulf between the bulk of the party membership and a leading clique “who give the impression that they didn't enter politics to deny the Conservatives political power.” Today in Oldham East & Saddleworth you can get a tee-shirt saying pretty much the same thing - albeit a bit more graphically and succinctly.

Whatever the outcome of today’s by-election, Nick Clegg is confronted by as substantial a challenge in taking his party further into coalition territory as Liberal Democrats face in regaining public trust. The odds on either happening are not encouraging.