Nick Clegg and his Battle Bus lent support to the Nicholson campaign in Streatham today, visiting the Palace Road Community Centre in Coburg Rd as part of Clegg’s final campaign push. The visit has been interpreted in the national press as an attempt to undermine Labour heartlands. A Liberal Democrat victory in Streatham would be a remarkable steal, but it’s certainly looking closer in the constituency than it has done for years. Labour faithfuls turned up to protest against Nicholson and, not to be outdone, the Conservatives blocked the road with their campaign truck, beeping their horn on repeat until they were stopped by the police. Yes, politicians behave like children sometimes.
In the community centre itself, we were entertained by a gospel-reggae band singing songs about victory and God as we waited for Clegg to arrive. With lyrics such as “Jesus is a winner man” and “we’re on the winning side”, it wasn’t quite clear where Nick was supposed to fit in. Our favourite guest blogger, Ian Duncan, thinks he’s more of a Moses for the Lib Dems than a Jesus…
Clegg’s speech was standard fare – suffice to say that ‘choice’ and ‘fairness’ made the starring appearances. Â He made a little dig at Cameron having already measured his curtains for No.10, but he’d already done that earlier in the day at Blackheath. And then he disappeared under a maelstrom of reporters, photographers, newsreaders and campaign managers, reappearing only to make his way back to the Battle Bus and onto the next stop…
Here’s a clip from the start of his speech:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THd95_iUb10&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
And some photos from the day:
[…] had to leave Streatham – in South West London – just before it turned into a political hotspot). Lewisham, or to be more specific Forest Hill, isn’t entirely an unknown quantity for me […]