London - The leader of Britain's Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, was brought down by the compromises he had to make in a bruising five years as junior coalition partner in Prime Minister David Cameron's government.
The 48-year-old retained his own seat in the general election but stepped down on Friday after a dismal night in which the party looked on course to retain just eight of its 57 seats in the House of Commons.
Positioned on the right of his centrist party, Clegg said his decision to join the Conservatives in government in 2010 was a responsible move to provide stability as Britain struggled with the fall-out from the global financial crisis.
He argued that the Liberal Democrats have taken the edge off Cameron's austerity measures, including by raising the threshold at which the lowest paid workers pay income tax.
But supporters on the left of his party never forgave him for backing cuts to public services that seemed to sacrifice many of the party's ideals.
Crucially, Clegg reneged on a key election pledge not to raise university tuition fees.
And he failed to secure reforms of the voting system and the House of Lords which have long been core Lib Dem goals.
AFP
