The destruction of the NHS is not going to be Nick Clegg’s worse legacy. He’s done something even worse.

Language really, really matters.

Don’t worry, I’m not talking about being snobby over misspelt words or wrongly placed apostrophes. I’m talking about language affecting us in real ways which can have real-life repercussions on massively important things like our health, our well-being, our happiness.

Words really can change things in concrete ways. 

There are recent examples in politics where just one little word has destroyed a political party for a generation.

In Labour’s case, in the 80s, it was the word ‘loony‘. The ‘loony left‘ haunted every Labour politician until Blair and New Labour sunk it forever by being worse than loony. They became ‘moderate‘.

In the Tory’s case it was the word ‘nasty‘ – a term coined in 2002 but which…