A former Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Keighley has quit the party in protest against the Coalition’s tuition fees hike and posted an astonishing 800 word rant attacking Nick Clegg on their website.

Roger Beaumont, who stood for the Liberal Democrats in last year’s general election, runs the website and posted the rant after becoming ‘enraged’ when he read an interview with Nick Clegg that was posted out to all Liberal Democrat members. The rant was quickly taken down but preserved by the Shipley Labour Party and passed to the T&A. It blasts Nick Clegg and the national Liberal Democrat Party as a party without ‘principles’.

Every Liberal Democrat MP, including party leader Nick Clegg, signed an NUS pledge before the General Election promising to vote against any rise in tuition fees. When the issue of tuition fees was put before parliament however many Liberal Democrat MPs voted for the rise, despite the fact their election manifesto contained a commitment to bring in a graduate tax.

Mr Beaumont ends his rant by comparing Nick Clegg with the carol about Good King Wenceslas, who Mr Beaumont says ‘went out to help people more in need than he was’ before adding ‘Nick Clegg seems to have a different inspiration!’.

Neil Fraser, a candidate for the Ilkley Labour Party in May’s local elections said ‘It’s an astonishing rant and shows the depth of betrayal felt by many people who voted Liberal Democrat in good faith are now feeling. Labour are now the only progressive party left in the country for people who believe that the Tory-led government, propped up by Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats, are cutting too deep and too fast and damaging our children’s future as a result.’

The rant was taken down after a few days and replaced with a message saying it was ‘Moving to a new server.’