Nick Clegg: I challenge Farage to debate EU membership

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These phone-ins we do at LBC do have a habit of generating a few headlines, and today’s CALL CLEGG was no exception. Nick Clegg has challenged Nigel Farage to a live debate on the EU.

As it’s PHONEFARAGE tomorrow morning, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get an answer from the UKIP leader. But I wonder if Nick Clegg might have cause to regret issuing the invitation, as it raises Nigel Farage to the same level as the Deputy Prime Minister. It also could put the general election TV debates in jeopardy as Farage would have a much stronger case for inclusion in those debates this time around. But I suspect David Cameron would rather shove a red hot poker up his backside than take part in a debate with Farage. The two loathe each other.

This is what Nick Clegg said…“I will challenge Nigel Farage to a public open debate about whether we should be in or out of the European Union, because that is now the choice facing this country and he is the leader of the party of ‘Out’, I am the leader of the party of ‘In’. I think it’s time we now have a proper public debate so the public can listen to the two sides of the argument and judge for themselves. If Nigel Farage is either listening or looking at this programme I hope he would take up my challenge to debate, once and for all, publically, should we be in the European Union – which I believe means that we have more people in work than would otherwise be the case, we keep ourselves safer because we can go after cross-border crime and terrorism, it means we can look after the environment in the way that we can’t on our own or do we do what UKIP want which is to pull ourselves out of the European Union and so jeopardise millions of jobs in this country? “That’s the choice let’s have the debate out in the open and I am very happy and very keen to debate that with Nigel Farage directly.”

If Farage doesn’t say yes to Cleggie, he will come across as a wuss, and I suspect he will say yes because I suspect he will feel he has little to lose and would wipe the floor with the leader of the LibDems.But has Clegg dropped the ball with his challenge. Read his words again. How can he offer that debate to Farage and then deny a referendum on the same subject to the British people?I think it’s time we now have a proper public debate so the public can listen to the two sides of the argument and judge for themselves.And then vote. Because that is what the public will want. And they won’t see an amorphous vote in the European elections as anywhere near enough. Mr Clegg, you have been warned.

Pre-election promise from Clegg:

UPDATE: Response from UKIP… A UKIPspokesman said:“Mr Farage would like to thank Mr Clegg for his kind invitation to a debate on the great issue of Britain’s membership of the European Union. Perhaps he could also let us know whether he has invited David Cameron and Ed Miliband too in order that the British people can see all their main political leaders argue their positions. If this challenge means that Mr Clegg is going to restore his backing for an In/Out referendum, which he gave before the last election but then withdrew afterwards, then it could be a significant moment in British politics. Mr Farage will give a full response to this development on LBC tomorrow morning