Nick Clegg takes aim at 'sneering millionaire' Jeremy Paxman

Nick Clegg has launched an attack against BBC star Jeremy Paxman for his ‘sneering’ attitude to politics and politicians.

17:18 08 November 2013

On his weekly radio show, Nick Clegg launched an attack against BBC star Jeremy Paxman about politics in a row sparked by Russell Brand’s call on Newsnight for a revolution.

Paxman interviewed the comedian two weeks ago whereby Brand said he refused to vote out of "indifference" to the "lies, treachery and deceit of the political class.” Later on, Paxman admitted to not voting in the recent election either saying that the choice of candidates was “so unappetising.”

Deputy Prime Minister did not take this lightly. Speaking on LBC Radio, he said: "Here is a guy who gets paid a million pounds, thereabouts, paid for by taxpayers. He lives off politics and he spends all his time sneering at politics.”

"We know that politics is not perfect," he said. "But at the end of the day it is the way that we decide how you pay your taxes, how we support our hospitals, our schools, whether we are going to war or not, how we deal with climate change.

"Of course it is sometimes unedifying, but this idea that you can just sort of sneer at the whole thing, dismiss everyone as being rogues and charlatans and therefore 'I am going to wash my hands of the whole thing' – I think it is a total abdication of responsibility."