:00:40. > :00:45.Good morning, welcome to the Sunday Politics. Senior Liberal Democrats
:00:46. > :00:52.say the public has lost trust in Nick Clegg. They call for him to go
:00:53. > :00:55.after the local election meltdown. And before the likely Europa rove a
:00:56. > :01:00.catastrophe tonight. Labour and Tories struggled to cope with the
:01:01. > :01:05.UKIP insurgency as Nigel Farage hosts his success and declares the
:01:06. > :01:09.UKIP Fox is in the Westminster henhouse.
:01:10. > :01:14.And in the East Midlands: The latest on what the local elections mean in
:01:15. > :01:15.our area. And fasten your seat belts, it's Ken
:01:16. > :01:21.Clarke versus UKIP in the studio. hall spread, the Liberal Democrats
:01:22. > :01:30.disappeared, UKIP failed to show. More analysis in just over half an
:01:31. > :01:35.hour. Cooped up in the Sunday Politics
:01:36. > :01:43.henhouse, our own boot should -- bunch of headless chickens. Nick
:01:44. > :01:47.Watt, Helen Lewis, Janan Ganesh. The Liberal Democrats lost over 300
:01:48. > :01:50.councillors on Thursday, on top of the losses in previous years, the
:01:51. > :01:54.local government base has been whittled away in many parts of the
:01:55. > :01:56.country. Members of the European Parliament will face a similar
:01:57. > :02:02.comment when the results are announced tonight. A small but
:02:03. > :02:06.growing chorus of Liberal Democrats have called on Nick Clegg to go
:02:07. > :02:11.This is what the candidate in West Dorset had to say.
:02:12. > :02:19.People know that locally we worked incredibly hard on their councils
:02:20. > :02:22.and as their MPs, but Nick Clegg is perceived to have not been
:02:23. > :02:32.trustworthy in leadership. Do you trust him? He has lacked bone on
:02:33. > :02:35.significant issues that are the core values of our party.
:02:36. > :02:40.This is how the party president responded.
:02:41. > :02:47.At this time, it would be foolish for us as a party to turn in on
:02:48. > :02:51.ourselves. What has separated us from the Conservatives is, while
:02:52. > :02:55.they have been like cats in a sack, we have stood united, and that is
:02:56. > :03:00.what we will continue to do. The major reason why is because we
:03:01. > :03:10.consented to the coalition, unlike the Conservatives. We had a vote,
:03:11. > :03:16.and a full conference. Is there a growing question over
:03:17. > :03:23.Nick Clegg's leadership? Different people have different views. My own
:03:24. > :03:27.view is I need to consult my own activists and members before coming
:03:28. > :03:31.to a conclusion. I am looking at holding a meeting for us to discuss
:03:32. > :03:36.the issue. I have been told by some people they do not think a meeting
:03:37. > :03:40.is required, they think he should stay, and other people have decided
:03:41. > :03:44.he should go. As a responsible Democrat, I should consult the
:03:45. > :03:50.members here before coming to my conclusions. What is your view at
:03:51. > :03:56.the moment? I have got to listen to my members. But you must have some
:03:57. > :04:02.kind of you. Because I have an open mind, I do not think he must stay, I
:04:03. > :04:09.am willing to say I have not made my mind up. From a news point of view,
:04:10. > :04:15.that is my official position. I can assure you there is not much news in
:04:16. > :04:21.that! I said earlier I am not going to say he must go must stay, I am
:04:22. > :04:24.consulting my members. But you must have some kind of view of your own
:04:25. > :04:28.before you have listened to your members. There are people who are
:04:29. > :04:33.wrongfully sanctioned and end up using food banks, I am upset about
:04:34. > :04:39.that, because we should not allow... I do not mind having a
:04:40. > :04:42.sanctioning system, that I get constituents who are put in this
:04:43. > :04:50.position, we should not accept that. I rebel on the issue of a referendum
:04:51. > :04:53.on membership of the EU. I am also concerned about the way the rules
:04:54. > :04:58.have been changed in terms of how parents are treated in their ability
:04:59. > :05:04.to take children to funerals out of school time. There are questions
:05:05. > :05:10.about the leader's responsible T for those policies. Nick Clegg has made
:05:11. > :05:15.it clear he is a staunch pro-European, he wants the Liberal
:05:16. > :05:19.Democrats to be in, he does not want a referendum, if you lose a chunk of
:05:20. > :05:23.your MEPs tonight, what does that say about how in June you are with
:05:24. > :05:29.written public opinion? There are issues with how you publish your
:05:30. > :05:34.policies. I do not agree 100% with what the government is doing or with
:05:35. > :05:38.what Nick Clegg says. I do think we should stay within the EU, because
:05:39. > :05:44.the alternative means we have less control over our borders. There is a
:05:45. > :05:50.presentational issue, because what UKIP want, to leave the EU, is worse
:05:51. > :05:55.in terms of control of borders, which is their main reason for
:05:56. > :06:01.wanting to leave, which is strange. There are debate issues, but I have
:06:02. > :06:04.got personal concerns, I do worry about the impact on my constituents
:06:05. > :06:11.when they face wrongful sanctions. You have said that. A fellow Liberal
:06:12. > :06:15.Democrat MP has compared Nick Clegg to a general at the Somme, causing
:06:16. > :06:21.carnage amongst the troops. I am more interested in the policy
:06:22. > :06:25.issues, are we doing the right things? I do think the coalition was
:06:26. > :06:30.essential, we had to rescue the country from financial problems. My
:06:31. > :06:35.own view on the issue of student finance, we did the right thing in
:06:36. > :06:40.accordance with the pledge, which was to get a better system, more
:06:41. > :06:45.students are going to university, and more from disadvantaged
:06:46. > :06:49.backgrounds. But there are issues. But Nick Clegg survive as leader
:06:50. > :06:54.through till the next election? It depends what odds you will give me!
:06:55. > :06:59.If you are not going to give me is, I am not going to get! If you listen
:07:00. > :07:04.to John hemming, he has got nothing to worry about. He does have
:07:05. > :07:14.something to worry about, they lost 300 seats, on the uniform swing, you
:07:15. > :07:18.would see people like Vince cable and Simon Hughes lose their seats.
:07:19. > :07:22.But nobody wants to be the one to we'll be nice, they would rather
:07:23. > :07:27.wait until after the next election, and then rebuild the party. Yes
:07:28. > :07:34.there is no chance of him walking away. Somebody like Tim Farron or
:07:35. > :07:37.Vince Cable, whoever the successor is, though have to close the dagger
:07:38. > :07:43.ten months before an election, do they want that spectacle? If I were
:07:44. > :07:46.Nick Clegg, I would walk away, it is reasonably obvious that the
:07:47. > :07:52.left-wing voters who defect had towards the Labour Party in 2010
:07:53. > :07:56.will not return while he is leader. And anything he was going to achieve
:07:57. > :08:02.historically, the already has done. Unlike David Miliband, sorry, Ed
:08:03. > :08:50.historically, the already has done. transformed the
:08:51. > :08:55.-- what is Vince Cable going to do? Vince Cable is in China, on a
:08:56. > :09:04.business trip. It is like John Major's toothache in 1990. What is
:09:05. > :10:15.Tim Farron doing? He is behind Nick Clegg,
:10:16. > :10:21.Tim Farron doing? He is behind Nick next election? Yes. Yes. Yes. I am
:10:22. > :10:25.sorry, Nick Clegg, you are finished! We will speak to Paddy
:10:26. > :10:29.Ashdown in the second part of the show to speak about the Liberal
:10:30. > :10:33.Democrats. The UKIP insurgency could not deliver the promised earthquake,
:10:34. > :10:36.but it produced enough shock waves to discombobulated the established
:10:37. > :10:40.parties. They are struggling to work out how to deal with them. We
:10:41. > :10:54.watched it all unfold. Behind the scenes of any election
:10:55. > :10:58.night is intensely busy. Those in charge of party strategy and
:10:59. > :11:02.logistics want their people focused, working with purpose and rehearsed
:11:03. > :11:08.to make sure their spin on the results is what viewers remember and
:11:09. > :11:12.take on board. A bit of a buzz of activity inside the BBC's studio,
:11:13. > :11:17.kept and primed for the results. What this does not show due is the
:11:18. > :11:23.exterior doubles up for hospital dramas like Holby City, there are
:11:24. > :11:25.doorways that are mock-ups of accident and emergency, but the
:11:26. > :11:29.electorate will discover which of the parties they have put into
:11:30. > :11:34.intensive care, which ones are coming out of recovery and which
:11:35. > :11:39.ones are in rude health. We joined David Dimbleby. Good evening,
:11:40. > :11:45.welcome to the BBC's new election centre. When three big beasts become
:11:46. > :11:50.for on the political field, things have changed. Eric Pickles says we
:11:51. > :11:55.will be seen off next year, we will see you at Westminster! This party
:11:56. > :12:00.is going to break through next year, and you never know, we might even
:12:01. > :12:04.hold the balance of power. Old messages that gave voters in excuses
:12:05. > :12:08.to go elsewhere on the ballot paper exposed the older players to
:12:09. > :12:11.questions from within their ranks. In the hen house of the House of
:12:12. > :12:16.Commons, the fox that wants to get in has ruffled feathers. The reason
:12:17. > :12:23.they have had amazing success, a rapid rise, partly what Chuka Umunna
:12:24. > :12:29.says about being a repository, but they have also managed to sound like
:12:30. > :12:32.human beings, and that his Nigel Farage's eight victory. For some
:12:33. > :12:37.conservatives, a pact was the best form of defence. It would be
:12:38. > :12:41.preferable if all members of UKIP and voters became Tories overnight.
:12:42. > :12:47.That seems to be an ambitious proposition. Therefore, we need to
:12:48. > :12:53.do something that welcomes them on board in a slightly different way.
:12:54. > :12:57.Labour had successes, but nobody but they're wizards of Spain was
:12:58. > :13:02.completely buying a big success story. Gaffes behind the scenes and
:13:03. > :13:08.strategic errors were levelled at those who have managed the campaign.
:13:09. > :13:12.They have played a clever game, you shuffle bedecked around, and if UKIP
:13:13. > :13:17.does quite well but not well enough, that helps Labour get in. That kind
:13:18. > :13:23.of mindset will not win the general election, and we saw that in the tap
:13:24. > :13:28.ticks and strategy, and that is why, on our leaflets for the European
:13:29. > :13:33.elections, we chose deliberately not to attack UKIP, that was a bad
:13:34. > :13:39.error. Not so, so somebody who has been in that spotlight. If you look
:13:40. > :13:43.at the electoral maths, UKIP will still be aiming at the Tories in a
:13:44. > :13:47.general election. They are the second party in Rotherham, Labour
:13:48. > :13:51.will always hold what the room, it is safe, there is no point being
:13:52. > :13:56.second in a safe seat. UKIP have taken Castle Point, a Tory seat they
:13:57. > :14:01.will target. The question for the next election, can they make a
:14:02. > :14:07.challenge? The Tories will be under the gun from UKIP. The substance of
:14:08. > :14:11.these results is UKIP not in government, they do not have any
:14:12. > :14:16.MPs, they do not run a single Council, at dismissing them ceased
:14:17. > :14:18.to be an option. The question is, who will they heard most and how do
:14:19. > :14:40.you smoke the keeper's threat? Joining me now, day about and
:14:41. > :14:47.Patrick O'Flynn. Do you agree not enough was done for the elections?
:14:48. > :14:50.No, we have very good results around Hammersmith and Fulham, Croydon
:14:51. > :14:59.Redbridge, and we picked off council wards in Haringey meaning that Lynne
:15:00. > :15:05.Featherstone and Simon Hughes worked on. The Ashcroft polling shows that
:15:06. > :15:08.in key marginals, we are well ahead and on course to win in 2015. I will
:15:09. > 0:08:16be