DEPUTY Prime Minister Nick Clegg was confronted by an angry Sheffield student - and challenged by a city caller about whether he had ever worn a ‘onesie’ - on his first radio phone in show.
The Sheffield Hallam MP took part in the first of what will be a weekly session on London’s LBC Radio yesterday.
During the session, Mr Clegg was also confronted by a former Liberal Democrat councillor who said he had torn up his party membership card because he was ashamed of what the party is doing in Government.
Mr Clegg has said he is doing the programme, with presenter Nick Ferrari, because he feels politicians do not hear enough from voters directly, and one caller told him his decision to take part was ‘very commendable’.
Although the radio show, at 9am each Thursday, is broadcast only in London, it can be listened to in Sheffield over the internet.
A Sheffield University student called Lauren dismissed measures like the pupil premium as ‘tokenistic’ and accused the Government of discouraging young people from gaining qualifications by abolishing the educational maintenance allowance and increasing tuition fees.
“It seems as if the coalition is trying to tell them that higher education is not for them,” said Lauren - a charge Mr Clegg did not accept.
The Deputy Prime Minister repeated his apology for committing the Lib Dems not to raise tuition fees when they were not in a position to deliver on the promise, and he admitted the party’s recent eighth position in the Rotherham by-election was ‘woeful’.
The most bizarre question was saved until last, when Harry, from Sheffield, asked him if he had ever worn a onesie - an adults’ all-in-one suit.
A laughing Mr Clegg answered: “I was actually given a big green onesie in Sheffield, which I have kept in its packaging, but I haven’t worn it.”
Asked by Ferrari whether he would be willing to wear the ‘Incredible Hulk’ branded item in public, for charity, given to him by a Sheffield student Lib Dem member, he replied: “It’s almost certainly something I would do in the privacy of my own home.”
What do you think about Nick Clegg’s radio phone-in?
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