Clegg hints at future bid to lead Lib Dems

Mr Clegg heaped praise on ‘Ming’ Campbell for settling Lib Dem nerves after former leader Charles Kennedy stood down due to an alcohol problem.

He said Mr Campbell, aged 66, had been “incredibly generous” to him by handing him the role of home affairs spokesman.

Mr Clegg, MP for Sheffield Hallam, is regarded as a front-runner to succeed Sir Menzies, who is 26 years his senior.

He is expected to fight it out with environment spokesman Chris Huhne when Sir Menzies eventually steps down. Speaking to The Star, Mr Clegg said the “flattery” of being talk up as a future leader had “worn off a long time ago”.

He said: “Ming Campbell has said he will be leader up to, through and beyond the next general election and I think that is exactly what should happen.”

Asked if he wanted to be leader, Mr Clegg replied: “One thing I would say for sure - I am not going to challenge Ming Campbell. I’m not going to stand against Ming Campbell.

“I’m there to support Ming Campbell, not make life difficult for him. If you are asking me ‘would I ever rule out standing as a candidate for the leadership sometime in the future’, of course I‘m not going to do that. It would be daft.

“But beyond that, I really just have to get on with my job.”

Sir Menzies is the only person who could have steadied the ship after Charles Kennedy resigned, he said.

He added: “I just think people have short memories.

“They forget that 18 months ago the Liberal Democrats were a very unhappy party, to put it bluntly.

“When the history books get written, when people take a sense of perspective, they will see that Ming Campbell has settled the nerves of the party very quickly.

In what many believe will be the last annual conference before a general election next year, Mr Clegg, 40, will deliver keynote speeches on immigration and the “surveillance state”.

He will also set out ideas on how to tackle the rising tide of gun crime.