IN THE wake of the recent Liberal Democrat electoral surge and the public reaction to Nick Clegg’s showing in the TV leaders’ debates, we saw no less than four Tory-supporting newspapers devoting front pages on the same day to digging the dirt on the Lib Dem leader.

Is that a coincidence? Given how little coverage is normally given to the third party and how little substance there were to the allegations, it all seemed over the the top.

David Yelland, a recent former editor of The Sun, has admitted that it was part of his brief as editor to make the Lib Dems invisible, and that he did not send journalists to their party conference.

Yet these papers attempted to justify the blitzkrieg on Clegg by saying the public had the right to know more about him and his party.

Could it be that much of our national press, owned as it is by right-wing billionaires who compel their papers to bolster those politicians who serve their interests, was in a panic at the thought of the public not toeing the party line? Currently those same papers are screaming at us that any form of electoral reform – a key aim of the Lib Dems – will result in multi-party governments and thus economic meltdown. But, apart from Britain only three countries in the European Union have single-party governments – France, Malta and Greece (the latter hardly a model of good government).

In contrast, Germany, the Scandinavian countries and others manage multi-party government well.

Outside the EU other countries, like New Zealand, manage multi-party governments, so why not us? If we had a mature balanced press we could consider the pros and cons of electoral reform, but sadly what we get is extremely partisan hysteria which excludes intelligent debate.

These newspapers also devoted acres of newsprint to Gordon Brown’s gaffe, when he made some unguarded comments about Gillian Duffy, a Labour voter, without realising he was still wearing a microphone.

Are we really expected to believe that David Cameron never makes less-than-complimentary remarks about some voters in private to his aides?

Ditto Nick Clegg or any other politician for that matter.

Most of us know the real agenda behind blanket coverage of such trivial issues, but without a grown-up national popular press it is hard to have a grown-up political debate.

As a non-Tory voter who has lived all his life in a very safe Tory seat, my vote has never counted for anything and I can totally understand why so many people in my situation feel disillusioned with our political system.

I just pray a tipping point has been reached.

ALAN FISHER, Witney Road, Finstock