Nicholas Clegg

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Nicholas William Peter 'Nick' Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is the British Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam and home affairs spokesman for the Liberal Democrats

He was a Liberal Democrat member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands constituency from 1999 until he stood down as an MEP at the 2004 European elections.

He stood for election in Sheffield Hallam in the 2005 General Election and won the seat with a majority of 8682 votes, suffering a slight swing away from the Lib Dems of 4.3%. He succeeded Richard Allan, also of the Lib Dems, who stepped down at the dissolution of Parliament in 2005.

A speaker of five European languages, Clegg was appointed spokesperson on foreign affairs in 2005. His ability to articulate Liberal values at a very practical level have quickly lent him prominence, with many already seeing him as a future Liberal Democrat leader.

Following the resignation of party leader Charles Kennedy on 7 January 2006, Clegg was touted as a possible leadership contender. He was quick to rule himself out and to declare his support for Sir Menzies Campbell, who won the ballot and appointed Clegg home affairs spokesman, replacing Mark Oaten.[1]

Clegg is one of the contributors to the Orange Book (2004). Clegg has also given lectures at Sheffield University on the topic of the European Union.

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