Clegg vows Lib Dems will be more assertive in coalition

BRITAIN’S Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg vowed yesterday that his Liberal Democrats would take a more assertive role in the year-old coalition government, after the party took a hammering in elections.

The Lib Dems last week lost a referendum on voting reform and fared badly in local elections, apparently taking the blame for harsh public services cuts while Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives escaped unscathed.

“The lesson I’ve learned listening to people on the doorsteps is that people want a louder Liberal Democrat voice in government,” Clegg told the BBC.