Huhne attacks Tories for 'trashing' Nick Clegg
By Ned Simons - 6th May 2011
Chris Huhne has accused the Conservatives of endorsing the “worst features of the Republican right” during the No to AV campaign.
The Lib Dem energy secretary said there was still "enormous anger" within the Lib Dems "from top to bottom" at the tactics employed by the No campaign which he said "made up facts".
Speaking on the BBC this afternoon he said the campaign had seen the "terrible precedent" of the "introduction of made up facts only previously seen in American campaigns such as people saying Barrack Obama wasn't born in the United States".
He noted that Labour MP David Blunkett had admitted that the No campaign had "made up" the fact that general elections under AV would require expensive voting machines.
"We have gone into an arrangement in the coalition where we have compromised in the national interest and our partners are trashing us for reaching those compromises and that is so short sighted from the Conservative Party's point of view," he said.
Huhne said the campaign would "change the style" of the relationship between the Lib Dems and Tories in coalition with his party taking a more business like approach.
He said: "You cant go around behaving in this way and expect there not to be consequences.
"We have seen the Conservative Party in this campaign lose sight of bigger objectives for tactical advantage."
He said the Conservatives had "panicked" over the referendum and lost sight of the long term strategy for the coalition. He said they were "shooting themselves in the foot" as their behaviour had undermined attempts to "detoxify the brand".
Sat alongside him Conservative minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude said the Conservatives were only responsible for the Conservative No to AV campaign not the No campaign as a whole.
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.