The passion of Nick Clegg

In the days before conference, a party leader is usually up to his ears in drafts of his speech, worrying how best to please the crowd. But last Monday, Nick Clegg wasn’t slaving away at his speech. He was at Chequers with the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, discussing, according to one participant, a new set of coalition commitments on the economy, education, welfare, childcare and social mobility. It will not please Clegg’s people to hear this. Lib Dems don’t like Tories or mansions, and that their leader was making policy with Dave and George on the brink of conference will cause anxiety.

But that Clegg, Danny Alexander and David Laws were at Chequers signing up to a renewed coalition agenda says more about the state of the government than anything that Clegg will say in Brighton next week, or that Cameron will say in Birmingham next month. At a previous Chequers strategy meeting in February, there were only Tories present and one of the main topics was what to do if the Liberal Democrats walked away.