Nick Clegg: Labour and Conservatives are treating voters like fools over electoral reform

Nick Clegg today accused his opponents of treating voters like "fools" over promises of electoral reform. The Liberal Democrat leader likened Labour pledges to overhaul the voting system to a "consumer guarantee from Del Boy". Gordon Brown is expected to use a campaign speech today to highlight Labour's plans for constitutional reform – including a referendum on introducing a form of proportional representation for Westminster. The proposal has been widely seen as an attempt to woo the Liberal Democrats in the event of a hung parliament – although Labour's plans do not go as far as the Lib Dems would like. However, Clegg insisted that neither Labour nor the Conservatives could be trusted when it came to issues of constitutional reform. "They have systematically at every turn blocked every single reform: they have blocked party funding reform, they have blocked reform on lobbying," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "Believing any promises from them on political reform is a bit like accepting a consumer service guarantee from Del Boy," he added, referring to the Only Fools and Horses character. "Don't believe it; they are trying to treat you like fools." The Lib Dem leader said the government had had 13 years to "sort out the mess" and had failed to act. Clegg plans to attack the two opposition parties for blocking serious reforms to maintain the "two-party stitch-up" in parliament at a press conference later today. As Brown fired the starting gun for the election yesterday, Clegg launched his party's election campaign in the marginal seat of Watford as he urged young voters to help him break up the "red and blue teams that have run the country for 60 years". Clegg is seeking to tap into public anger at the expenses and financial crises to win as many as possible of the 100 key seats the party is targeting. The Lib Dem leader promised his party when he took over the reins in 2007 that he would double its current quota of 63 MPs within two elections. The Sun's daily YouGov poll saw the Lib Dems slide one point to 17%, while the Tories also fell by one point to 40%, and Labour gained one point to reach 32%.