It's Clegg verses Huhne in the Liberal Democrat Leadership

9.53.10am UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 2nd Nov 2007

Leadership Election News

Nominations closed on Wednesday with Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne as the only contenders. The contest will be decided by a month long ballot of 70,000 party members. Just hours after the nominations close, both men are due to take part in the first of 10 hustings, speaking for up to 15 minutes each before taking questions from the floor. The pair have pledged to lead a campaign of mass civil disobedience if ID cards are made compulsory.

Nick Clegg has vowed to face court proceedings rather than register for an ID card, if the government presses ahead with plans to make them compulsory. Nick has said that if he is elected leader of the Liberal Democrats he would urge his fellow MPs not to co-operate and ask Liberal Democrat controlled councils to ensure no local public services require an identity card.

Chris Huhne has unveiled his full leadership manifesto today. Chris said he was opposed to the Trident missile deterrent, and promised a "people's veto" over unpopular legislation, with a public referendum on new laws if 2.5% of the population where opposed within a period of up to 100 days of their passage through Parliament. Chris has also said he would lead a campaign against ID card legislation.