Angry Birmingham student tears into Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg

Apr 30 2010 by Paul Dale, Birmingham Mail

NICK Clegg’s silky-smooth presentational skills deserted him when the Liberal Democrat leader encountered an angry Birmingham student.

Mr Clegg could hardly get a word in as 26-year-old Maya Black ripped into his party’s proposal to offer 800,000 unemployed young people internships – £55-a-week work experience placements.

In a heated exchange at South Birmingham College, Ms Black said a proposal to train jobless people amounted to nothing more than a “glorified piece of paper”.

In an attempt to defuse her anger, Mr Clegg joked: “You should go into politics.”

But as Miss Black seized a microphone and ploughed on, with fellow students in the audience applauding wildly, Mr Clegg began to look unsettled. When the Liberal Democrat leader attempted to have his say, Miss Black shook her head vigorously in disapproval.

Nothing was worse, Mr Clegg said, than for a young person to be sitting at home getting “increasingly confused, depressed maybe” because they cannot find work.