General Election 2015: 'I did not go into government to look for mates', Clegg says
The Deputy Prime Minister says he is 'lucky' to have friends that are 'so spectacularly ignorant of politics they barely know which party I lead'
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Your support makes all the difference.“I did not go into government to look for mates,” Nick Clegg insisted as he dismissed the idea he and David Cameron might stay in touch socially later in life, when the pair have long-retired from politics.
So who are his real mates? In an interview with The Independent, the Deputy Prime Minister says he is “lucky” to have friends that are “so spectacularly ignorant of politics they barely know which party I lead”.
But surely he, like most people, socialises with his work colleagues? Apparently politics is different:
“The moment you allow your politics to be clouded by personal likes and dislikes you’re not going to do your job properly, because it’s all about making judgements that are objective as possible so all my close friends remain since I was a kid.”
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However the Lib Dem leader might make an exception if he and Mr Cameron renew their vows and enter into a second coalition after the election, because their two football teams play each other in the FA Cup final on May 30.
“It depends which team he’s supporting that day,” Mr Clegg jokes in an interview with The Independent, mocking the Prime Minister for forgetting which football team he supported – mistakenly saying West Ham instead of his beloved Aston Villa, the FA Cup finalists who will take on Arsenal on May 30.
He added that he might even be gunning on his own team Arsenal by the time they take each other on at Wembley in a few weeks’ time considering how fickle – and some might say fake – Mr Cameron’s support for the Villains is. “I certainly hope Arsenal win, they deserve to,” Mr Clegg said, keen to show the strength of his own support for Arsenal.
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