Nick Clegg should spend less time listening to Peter Mandelson, and more staying in touch with the credit agencies.

As I write, Cleggover is due to be bashing the lectern on the subject of the Conservative Party blackmailing the People into voting for them. It is a common trait among liberals with both small and large ‘L’s to thus underestimate the voters; but whether his charge is true or not, he ought to ponder a little on whether the blackmail itself is true.

Although there has been some ribald laughter in some quarters on the subject of Slog moles in the credit management sector, so far the chaps inside Slogger’s Roost have been laughing last. The plain truth is that S&P, Moody’s and Fitch have all pretty much decided that Britain is a fiscal basket-case – and every poll suggesting a Hung Parliament makes them more nervous.

We contacted two senior Eurozone credit managers and a hedge fund earlier today (very bad for the mobile bill) and all agreed that they not only assume a credit downgrading for the UK is inevitable: they report that the market is pre-empting the agencies by already charging more. (The figures showing the proof of this are freely available from any sovereign credit website).

Young Nick is looking through the wrong end of the telescope on this issue. It’s not that the Tories are trying to blackmail the voters – if anything, they’re being a bunch of wetlegs about being tougher on the choices available. It’s that the Government is blackmailing the Opposition Parties with bollocks about not talking Britain down.

Britain isn’t on the canvas because of its internal critics, Nicholas: it’s horizontal and about to be counted out because currency traders, hedge funds and credit managers decided months ago that Brown is mad and Darling is weak. They’re made more jittery by folks like you, Cleggie, driveling on about blackmail. As our source in the Greek tragedy confirmed last Friday:

“The guys in Athens may be in the shit, but at least they know it. You guys scare us to death.”

Since then, Alistair Darling has given another signal to mix up with all the other incomprehensible morse from the past. Trust me, it isn’t playing well.