Cleggy's off to a flier

Nick Clegg is off to a flying start in my new poll asking which Lib Dem MP had the best party conference.

Over 40% of you have so far chosen the Sheffield Hallam sex-bomb Home Affairs spokesman as your star turn, followed by Chris Huhne (25%) and Ming Campbell (22%) who are currently vying for the runners-up spot.

But there is still, of course, all to play for - which may come as some consolation to Julia Goldsworthy, who is currently languishing in last place with nul points.

If you’ve not yet voted - and especially if you're from Cornwall - it’s not too late…

The perils of live telly

So I wasn’t going to blog about this…

Last Monday was my first time on live telly, on BBC News 24, where I was asked to give my reflections on the opening day of the Lib Dem conference, alongside a political correspondent for the Financial Times.

The interviewer, James Landale, asked her a question; then he asked me a question (a different question to the one he’d said he would ask, but what the heck). And then he reverted to my fellow interviewee - who looked queasy, staggered slightly, and then fainted. Live on air.

It’s fair to say I was caught off-guard (as you can see from this still). Together with Mr Landale, we (sort of) caught her mid-fall, and then there was a split second when we both thought the same thing - do we carry on?

Quite rightly, the channel’s editors intervened, and cut straight back to the News 24 studio in some confusion.

As I say, I wasn’t going to mention any of this here (it just didn’t seem fair). But two things prompt me to do so.

First, I see the BBC has seen fit to broadcast the moment on its Storyfix download, which you can watch here (it’s about a third of the way in).

To my embarrassment and shame, I emerge from the incident looking utterly heartless, rather than serenely gallant (as I had hoped, and mis-remembered) - like the kind of cheap politician who would step over his own grandmother’s corpse if she lay between him and a photo-op. My only defence is that it happened very quickly, and that I was acutely conscious this was being broadcast in real-time.

The second reason I'm now telling all is that the journalist who fainted wrote a lovely e-mail to me last week, which I’d like to share:

I don't know if you remember me, but I was the falling body that interrupted your moment of glory on BBC News 24 on Monday evening in the Metropole Bar.

This is just a short note to say sorry that my unexpectedly crashing blood pressure came between you and Mr Landale's penetrating questions - I told James later that he should have just stepped over me and carried on asking you what you thought about things. Sky would have done, I reckon!

And several of Ming's aides said I'd introduced a great way of avoiding the difficult questions on policy.

Anyway, I've heard you on just about every broadcast outlet since then, so well done, and I clearly haven't killed off a burgeoning career.

Regards, and please feel free to use the video clip and this letter on your site if you feel like it - I'm absolutely fine and won't be offended at all. It was apparently a television first, and James said (I can't remember any of it) that you did at least get to answer one question before I did the drama queen bit.

'Nuff respect.

PS: Rob Fenwick has oh-so-kindly uploaded my moment of un-glory to YouTube here.

New poll: who had the best conference?

Right, now we’ve all had 24 hours to catch up on lost sleep, and gain some perspective, it’s time to choose which Lib Dem MP you think emerged with most credit from this year’s party conference.

The new poll is open now at my other gaff, and the six runners and riders are (in alphabetical order):

Vince Cable - steered through the Lib Dems’ new tax plans, and delivered an economics masterclass in his speech.

Ming Campbell - led from the front on the tax debate, gave a solid conference speech, and emerged much the stronger.

Nick Clegg - wowed delegates with an absolutely barnstorming speech, and a terrific new gimmick policy proposal: the Great Repeal Act.

Julia Goldsworthy - her cool, calm and assured performance in the lead-up to the tax debate proved her determination and mettle.

Evan Harris - though he lost the vote, his speech (well, mainly his jokes) in favour of the rebel amendment was the talk of the town.

Chris Huhne - his sober and weighty concluding remarks helped swing the tax vote in the leadership’s favour, entrenching his position as the activists’ darling.

** The presidential poll is now closed. Here’s the final score, after 180 votes: **

Paddy Ashdown (42 votes) - 23%
Lynne Featherstone (34) - 19%
Jo Swinson (21) - 12%
Simon Hughes (19) - 11%
Lembit Öpik (14 ) - 8%
Jenny Willott (14 ) - 8%
Susan Kramer (13) - 7%
Matthew Taylor (12) - 7%
Shirley Williams (11) - 6%

(Incidentally, I saw Simon very briefly on Thursday lunch-time, and he congratulated me on my blogging prize. He added that he was delighted to have been able to contribute, by providing the inspiration for the poll on his presidency. For once, I was tongue-tied, with a mixture of embarrassment (that he might have taken it personally) and surprise (that he’d heard about it at all).)