Nick Clegg is NOT a hypocrite...

Photo used by the Metro when covering the story

Nick Clegg has been announcing plans to increase social mobility through internships to allow a greater cross section of society to enjoy the opportunities that he had.  The main criticism is that internships are often only available on an unpaid/expenses paid basis and normally your chances of getting one depends on who you know as such opportunities tend to only arrive for rich/middle class people (who can afford a job with little/no pay - often in London) who’s parents are well connected.  Nick Clegg knows this all too well as he was given work experience at a Finnish Bank as after his father 'had a word' with a friend.

For launching this drive he is facing claims of being a hypocrite!  Ridiculous!  How is it hypocritical to want everyone to have the same opportunities that you yourself received?  He has experience of how this works first hand, benefitted from it (as have most politicians - including those on the opposite bench) and he wants to change it.

Part of the hypocrisy claim is that he himself advertised for unpaid help two years ago and the Lib Dems routinely have 15 three month unpaid internships - which is similar to all other political parties.  They are screaming hypocrisy because he wants to change it, despite the fact that most of the people on the offensive have also benefitted from it (whether to get a lucrative journalism internship or their foot into a political party) and make use of it, at least he is trying to change it.  Others have spent years talking about reducing inequality, making society fairer, the living wage etc where as Nick Clegg has managed to get the Liberal Democrats into a power sharing position and within a year is trying to do something.  I think they are the real hypocrites.