Labour pandering to fear - Clegg

Liberalism is not "ginger beer doctrine", Mr Clegg says

Ministers are "pandering to fear" and "playing to simmering tensions" as people lose jobs and a minority of them turn to hate, Nick Clegg is due to say.

The Lib Dem leader will cite attacks on human rights and "scaremongering over Zimbabwean refugees coming here and spreading cholera".

"This isn't leadership," he will say in a speech to the Demos think-tank.

He also says society may be damaged by measures taken after "evil crimes" involving abuse of children.

The only way we will make it through the hard times ahead, the only way we'll build a fairer more cohesive society is if we come together Nick CleggLib Dem leader

For example, he says the reaction to the murder of two-year-old Jamie Bulger in 1993 led to a "massive upswing" of young people in custody.

In a speech entitled Why I am a Liberal, which comes almost a year since he became leader of his party, Mr Clegg says liberalism is unique in "its optimism in people".

He adds that the economic downturn could lead to many people switching off politics and "as more people lose their jobs and end up on the streets, an alienated and frustrated minority will turn to aggression, to hate and to blame".

He says he has been "appalled by the way ministers have been playing to these simmering tensions".

"Hardship creates anxiety, scarcity creates suspicion - yet we have seen the justice minister denounce human rights, the immigration minister blame misery on asylum seekers" he will say, as well as referring to fears raised over Zimbabwean refugees.

"This isn't leadership; this is pandering to fear. The only way we will make it through the hard times ahead, the only way we'll build a fairer more cohesive society is if we come together - not if we drive people apart."

'Evil'

During his speech Mr Clegg will cover the cases of Karen Matthews, found guilty earlier this month of kidnapping her own daughter Shannon, and the step-father who beat 17-month-old Baby P to death.

He will also talk about the father in Sheffield who raped his two daughters over a period of 20 years.

There are minor miracles done by parents, teachers, carers, total strangers, every day in schools, hospitals, homes, playgrounds Nick Clegg

Mr Clegg will say: "Evil may be the right word to describe what some individuals have done to others, especially their own children.

"But our outrage as a people, our fury, our determination to stamp out these crimes wherever we can, shows that, as a society, we are moral, we are decent."

He will add: "It is disaster politics to assume otherwise."

On the case of Jamie Bulger, who was killed by two children in Liverpool, Mr Clegg will implicitly criticise former prime minister Tony Blair's response.

Mr Blair was shadow home secretary at the time of the murder, which was widely said to have prompted his promise to be "tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime".

'Damaged adults'

Mr Clegg is expected to say: "We know that it was the disaster politics response to the killing of Jamie Bulger that led to a massive upswing in the number of children in prison or prison-like secure accommodation.

"And we know it isn't doing any good. It isn't cutting crime. It's just turning fragile children into damaged adults - turning out a generation of career criminals."

He will insist that liberalism is "not just a ginger beer doctrine for sunny days and picnics", adding: "Most parents, almost all parents, are loving, caring, and put themselves last when it comes to decisions that affect their children.

"There are minor miracles done by parents, teachers, carers, total strangers, every day in schools, hospitals, homes, playgrounds. Acts of kindness that are the overwhelming majority of human experience."

Mr Clegg will say: "Like all liberals, I have an optimistic attitude towards people. That most people, most of the time, will make the right decisions for themselves, their family and their community."

Turning to the economy, Mr Clegg will accuse Prime Minister Gordon Brown of a "spectacular failure" to apply proper business rules.

He will add: "What we need now is a resetting of the rules which govern a dynamic, liberal economy - not a lurch back towards the economic policies of the 1970s."