So after all the fuss, Nick Clegg did manage to win his vote on the economy: both on the amendment proposed by the left-leaning Social Liberal Forum, and on the motion itself. The Lib Dem leader put in a forceful performance when he summed up the motion at the end of the debate. Some of the contributions were rather heated, notably from Gareth Epps and Naomi Smith of the SLF, but on the whole the debate was more about the economy itself rather than the leadership’s behaviour, which will also have come as a relief to Clegg and co. And if that debate was a bitter row, as it had been billed, then the Libs really don’t have that much to worry about. It was more like a couple bickering over the washing up.
Vince Cable strolled in towards the end, and was immediately pounced upon by the television cameras and photographers.
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