A welcome outbreak of plain speaking from Nick Clegg For a politician who bears as many scars on his back as Nick Clegg, it was either an act of bravery or masochism to choose the eve of his party conference to make a high-profile apology for the tuition fees debacle - and to do so in that most easily parodied of formats, the YouTube video. Sure enough, Mr Clegg's confession was soon the subject of widespread mockery and reappropriation, the highlight being its ingenious conversion into a catchy pop song. That the Liberal Democrat leader felt the need to make this statement, two years after his first great apology over tuition fees, shows the extent to which the issue still festers: alongside the initial decision to go into government with the Tories, it is the cardinal sin that many former supporters will never be able to forgive. Indeed, if Mr Clegg is hoping that it will give his party a chance for a fresh start, he is probably doomed to disappointment, given the Lib Dems" dire standing in the opinion polls - and their leader's even more abysmal personal ratings. His enemies will have noted that he apologised not for the raising of the fees (which was, and remains, necessary), but for the pre-election pledge not to do so. Mr Clegg's new vow - that his party will never again make promises it cannot keep - will doubtless meet with a lukewarm response. For all this, the Deputy Prime Minister's gambit was not just courageous, but admirable. First, it showed the maturity that government has forced on the Lib Dems, an acceptance of the folly of basing an election campaign around an eye-catching pledge that the leadership realised even then could not be kept. It was also to Mr Clegg's credit that he took the jokes in good grace, agreeing that the pop song crafted from his words can be released as a charity single. Above all, in an age when ministers and MPs go to extreme lengths to avoid confessing any error, it was refreshing to see a simple and seemingly sincere admission of fallibility. Indeed, Mr Clegg's intentions were in tune with the spirit of the times. Amid what Fraser Nelson calls on the opposite page "our imperilled politics" - a corrosive atmosphere in which politicians are regarded not so much with scepticism as outright contempt - the few individuals who strike a chord are those who speak honestly and clearly. Think of Boris Johnson, or of Nigel Farage, whose party threatens to displace Mr Clegg's in the polls and whose conference begins in Birmingham today. True, Ukip has benefited from the disillusionment of Tory voters and growing hostility towards Brussels. But its greatest asset is its leader's plain-spoken persona, the sense that he is a real person saying what he truly believes. If the established parties can bring a bit more of that spirit to our politics, we will all be a great deal better off.