Lib Dem wipeout predicted in southwest ‘heartland’

Clegg’s coalition dreams in tatters if ComRes poll proves accurate and party is reduced to 19 MPs

Columnist Don Brind

Within hours of making his pitch for another term in government - with a manifesto carefully crafted to make it possible to do a coalition deal with either the Tories or Labour - Nick Clegg was hit by a poll suggesting he could lose two-thirds of his MPs.

The ComRes poll for ITV shows a 13 per cent swing from the Lib Dems to the Tories, which ITV reckons will leave Clegg with just 19 of his 57 seats.

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is a former BBC lobby correspondent and Labour press officer who is watching the polls for The Week in the run-up to the 2015 election.