Sketch: Cameron and Clegg's marital blues Two years on, how is marriage treating the happy couple? Regrettably, all is not well. The romance, friends are whispering, has fizzled out. Look at poor Nick Clegg. When the Coalition partners pledged their troth, on that glorious May afternoon in the rose garden at No10, he looked like the happiest bride in the world. Yet now he seems worn, tired, frustrated. In his eyes there glimmers an ever-present sadness, suggestive of too many lonely, Valium-softened afternoons at home, nothing better to do than iron his husband's shirts and write speeches about "green growth." Friends say he misses having his own career Then look at David Cameron. A proud, old-fashioned man, reluctant to open up and discuss his real feelings, he puts a brave face on the state of the marriage. But his irritation is plain for all to see. He feels hen-pecked. His partner is always nagging him, about everything from the shelves that need putting up in the spare room to the importance of Lords reform. Mr Cameron's friends grumble. They say Mr Clegg walks all over him, and stops him doing anything fun. Yesterday, in a public display of togetherness, the couple renewed their vows. The chosen venue was a tractor manufacturing plant in Basildon, Essex. Compared with their wedding, this was a slightly less glamorous setting. But then, times are tight for many couples. Their guests were all employees of the plant. Both man and wife had prepared speeches. Mr Cameron acknowledged that he and his partner had had their difficulties, particularly with money, but he attempted to reassure everyone that together they would pull through. "In spite of the arguments we sometimes have," he said briskly, "we have put those differences aside." There were, he added, "no closed doors in Downing Street." No slammed doors either, we hope. Then it was Mr Clegg's turn to speak. Like any mother, he was concerned above all else about the children. "We've got a moral duty to our children to wipe the slate clean for them," he said earnestly. Imagine if our children had to face years of cuts with no end in sight. At the weekend he'd had a new haircut, as many women do when they're feeling low and want to give themselves a lift. It was a gamine, boyishly short crop, and made him appear quite a lot younger. One hopes Mr Cameron has complimented him on it, but as wives everywhere can wearily attest, men rarely take notice of such things. The two fielded questions from their guests. Chivalrously, Mr Cameron mostly let his partner answer first. He tended to frown while "'Im Indoors" gave his views on such weighty subjects as austerity, banking reform and Europe, but he at least made some show of being supportive. "We're investing huge amounts of extra money in expanding the number of apprenticeships," said Mr Clegg. "Absolutely right," said Mr Cameron encouragingly. Important to make the little lady feel wanted. Reports in the press suggest that some Lib Dems want to pull out of the Coalition well before the next general election. How sad it would be to see Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg split up. We will just have to tell ourselves that, whatever happens, Mummy and Daddy still love us very much.