Noises off

EACH time Nick Clegg rose to speak from the House of Commons' opposition benches, Labour MPs used to shriek and roll about in mock laughter. Those days are long gone. Today, his words command attention, even if rivals don't like what he has to say.

For Mr Clegg, it is simply another sign of how very different life is in Government and for his party this is preferable to simply attacking the choices made by others. That's why the Liberal Democrats had little choice but to seize the chance to join a coalition, which also meant Britain was spared the damaging uncertainty of a minority Conservative administration.

Not all of the Lib Dems' decisions since then have been correct, such as taking the axe to regional development agencies, which has cost hundreds of jobs in Yorkshire and imperilled thousands more.