Nick Clegg will use his speech to criticise Labour’s handling of the economy Nick Clegg will try to reassure Liberal Democrats who have raised doubts about the coalition, promising it will “put the country on a better path”.
In his speech to the Lib Dem conference, the deputy prime minister is expected to say “this is the right government for right now”.
Mr Clegg will also say the party would not be taken seriously again, if it had not done a deal with the Tories.
He will also stress the parties remain distinct, despite the coalition.
There are reports that many grassroots Lib Dems are unhappy at the coalition agreement, fearing that their party is being subsumed by a Conservative cuts agenda.
In his speech, Mr Clegg will defend reaching an agreement with the Tories after no party won a parliamentary majority in May’s general election.
He is expected to say: “Some say we shouldn’t have gone into government at a time when spending had to be cut. We should have let the Conservatives take the blame. Waited on the sidelines, ready to reap the political rewards.
“Maybe that’s what people expected from a party that has been in opposition for 65 years.
“People have got used to us being outsiders, against every government that’s come along. Maybe we got used to it ourselves. But the door to the change we want was opened, for the first time in most of our lifetimes.
“Imagine if we had turned away. How could we ever again have asked the voters to take us seriously?”
Mr Clegg will also say: “The Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives are and always will be separate parties, with distinct histories and different futures.
“But for this Parliament we work together to fix the problems we face and put the country on a better path. This is the right government for right now.”
The government is to outline the details of its cuts programme, aimed at reducing the £155bn budget deficit, when it publishes its spending review on 20 October.
Most Whitehall departments have been told to plan for savings of between 25% and 40%.
On Sunday, former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy told the BBC there was a “legitimate argument” to be had over the speed and scope of the cuts.
This followed criticism from Labour that the plans could undermine the economic recovery and damage front line services, hitting the poor hardest.
But Mr Clegg will use his speech to repeat the promise made by the Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, to target rich tax-avoiders in an effort to reduce the deficit.
He will say: “Labour left the country’s coffers empty. So the years ahead will not be easy. But you do not get to choose the moment when the opportunity to shape your country comes your way. All you get to choose is what you do when it does.”
Mr Clegg will add: “People who avoid and evade paying their taxes will no longer get away with it either.
“We all read the headlines about benefit fraud. We all agree it’s wrong when people help themselves to benefits they shouldn’t get. But when the richest people in the country dodge their tax bill that is just as bad.
“Both come down to stealing money from your neighbours. We will be tough on welfare cheats. But unlike Labour, we’ll be tough on tax cheats too.”
However, a revolt over the coalition’s schools policy could provide an embarrassing overture to the leader’s big speech.
At a fringe meeting on Sunday night, delegates criticised the plans for free schools and new academies outside local authority control, saying they were costly, unethical and divisive.
If the conference does vote against the plans it would not change government policy.
Mr Clegg will be leaving the conference after his speech, as he is due to attend a United Nations summit in New York on reducing world poverty.
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