Nick Clegg attempts to rouse Lib Dem troops for general election battle Nick Clegg delivers his speech to the Lib Dem conference in Brighton. Nick Clegg has attempted to march his troops to the sound of electoral gunfire, saying they are the only force in British politics to balance fiscal responsibility and social justice, as he declared he would veto any further Tory attempts to cut the top rate of income tax below 45p in this parliament. His 37-minute speech, closing a potentially fraught five-day conference in Brighton, was peppered with attacks on Labour profligacy balanced with strongly applauded criticism of the way in which Cameron used the environment as a "PR exercise" before the last election. He vowed he would force the Conservatives to stick to their green promises. He also announced the appointment of Lord Ashdown, the ever-energetic former party leader, to head up his 2015 election campaign. The surprise Ashdown appointment is likely to shore up Nick Clegg's position in the party and will reassure those activists worried that the Clegg circle has a natural leaning to a second coalition with the Conservatives. Now 71, Ashdown in the past has been more willing to co-operate with Labour, but this week made a point of saying he hated both Tories and Labour equally. He has spent much of the past year writing a book on the special forces, and the announcement of his return to frontline political combat drew the strongest applause from conference delegates. Infectiously optimistic, Ashdown will have the job of embedding himself in the organisation of the election, including the selection of candidates and key messages. In a speech full of attacks on the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, but notably not Ed Miliband, Clegg tried to depict the Liberal Democrats as a matured party of the centre willing to save the British economy, but also determined to ensure that further inescapable belt tightening starts at the top. He made no mention of political reform or civil liberties, two issues that have in the past formed pillars of conference speeches by Liberal Democrat leaders, preferring instead to focus on the huge economic challenges facing the UK economy. Defending George Osborne's politically disastrous March budget, he said: "At the last budget, we made two big announcements: that we were spending £3,000m pounds increasing the tax-free allowance, and just £50m reducing the top rate of tax while recouping five times that amount in additional taxes on the wealthiest. I insisted on the first. I conceded the second. He said stood by the budget "because as liberals, we want to see the tax on work reduced, the tax on unearned wealth increased, and the system as a whole tilted in favour of those on low and middle incomes. The budget delivered all three. He then vowed to veto any further cut in the top rate of tax, a commitment that did not surprise or disturb allies of Osborne. He said: "Now that we have brought the top rate of tax down to 45p - a level, let's not forget, that is still higher than throughout Labour's 13 years in office - there can be no question of reducing it further in this parliament. All future cuts in personal taxation must pass one clear test: do they help people on low and middle incomes get by and get on? He said the issue facing the parties at the next election would be how to distribute the pain of inescapable belt tightening. He declared his party's independence in finding the best way to cut the deficit, saying: "If we have to ask people to take less out or pay more in, we'll start with the richest and work our way down, not the other way around. We won't waver in our determination to deal with our debts. But we will do it in our own way, according to our own plans, based on our own values. So we will not tether ourselves to detailed spending plans with the Conservatives through the next parliament. He also refused to exclude further cuts to welfare, saying the size of the welfare budget in overall government spending was "an inconvenient truth that could not be hidden." He also told his party that the debate about a fiscal stimulus, or calls for Plan A to become Plan B, was often a caricature that should not go unchallenged. He said: "If Plan A really was as rigid and dogmatic as our critics claim, I'd be demanding a Plan B. What is needed - and what we're delivering - is a plan that is tough enough to keep the bond markets off our backs, yet flexible enough to support demand. Clegg will leave Brighton aware that his apology on tuition fees has not led to an immediate lift in his poll standing, but aware that most senior figures are wiling him to take the party into the next election, and broadly happy with his positioning of the party at the centre of the political spectrum. But there is also an acknowledgement that if he appears a serious drag on his party's recovery, calls for him to stand aside may develop in 12 to 18 months time. He easily saw off a push from the left to change economic policy explicitly, but he suffered two defeats - on planning policy for housing on Wednesday and secret courts on Tuesday - that will require him to reopen difficult talks with his coalition colleagues.