"It's brought up everywhere - in pubs, taxis, at church, in the shops, everywhere I go.  Nick's straight pitch to the electorate and transparent honesty seems to fill a huge void in the election debate. I have never known anything like it. Under the glare of the TV lights, with all parties on equal terms, people seem able to distinguish the phoney from the principled."

John Pugh backed Nick Clegg for the party leadership and invited him to speak to the Southport Liberal Democrats in 2005 introducing him as a the party's future leader even though at that stage Nick Clegg was new to parliament. 

"Nick is a hugely gifted individual", says John, " but his most important trait is an instinctive awareness of, and empathy with, others. He 's not wrapped up in his own ego."

Nick is pictured sharing a joke with John below at a stand run by Southport Lib Dems at the party's Spring Conference - promoting Southport as a Classic Resort.