Race to the finish

Shopping for votes . . . Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at Shaw’s Asda store while on the campaign trail

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Election 2011

It’s between the two of us — Clegg

LIB-Dem leader Nick Clegg dismissed his own coalition partner’s chances in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election — calling it a two-horse race.

On his second campaign visit to Oldham, the Deputy Prime Minister said it was between his candidate Elwyn Watkins and Labour’s Debbie Abrahams on January 13, despite Tory Kashif Ali losing May’s election by only around 2,400 votes.

Mr Clegg said: “Everyone knows that this is a two-way contest between the Lib-Dems and Labour. The gap between us at the election was only 103 votes.”

But he added: “There are no deals at all. I want all the parties in this election, like any other, to fight their corner. The voters are in charge and we shouldn’t speculate before they have had their say.”

Mr Clegg visited Asda in Shaw with Mr Watkins where he was greeted by cheering Lib-Dem activists.

However, not all were pleased to greet him.

Student protester Jennifer Leah (20) from Stalybridge, campaigning against university fees tripling, was bundled aside as she tried to make her point to Mr Clegg

Mr Clegg insisted that people accepted that the Lib-Dems were having to take difficult decisions in difficult times to sort out the financial mess left by Labour, whose plans to tackle the debt were nothing more “than a blank piece of paper.”

Mr Clegg said Mr Watkins would be the “tough, strong, straight-talking local MP” people want in tough times “after an outrageous abuse by the last MP.”

He added: “Elwyn would be the best MP the constituency has ever had.”

University Campus Oldham politics lecturer Dr Pete Woodcock didn’t agree with Mr Clegg’s comments that the by-election is a two-horse race.

He said: “If you look at the election results from last time, I do not think that is the case.”