text: Nick Clegg has been accused of blaming 'everyone but himself' after making a series of excuses for the party's disastrous poll ratings. In an interview, the Lib Dem leader listed a range of reasons why different groups of former supporters are 'p***** off' and have deserted the party since 2010. And he said all those reasons were more important than any policy decisions he made including on tuition fees. Scroll down for video . Collapse: Nick Clegg has told the Economist there was a range of reasons why different groups left. Pictures: The Lib Dem leader on the campaign trail in north west England on Tuesday, April 7 . Blame game: But Mr Clegg has said none of them were to do with his policy making decisions . He was asked in an interview with the Economist magazine why Lib Dem support had 'collapsed' in the last five years. He blamed protest voters who supported the party but deserted it after it entered coalition because they didn't want to take any 'responsibility'. He also blamed the fact the Lib Dems had entered into coalition with one of the major parties. He said going in with Tories meant it was 'inevitable' that support would fall in 'anti-conservative' parts of Britain. And he said public sector workers had left because their pensions were hit and some faced job cuts. Mr Clegg said there was 'clearly a section of the support we had in 2010 that was virulently anti-Conservative'. Coallition: Mr Clegg said going in with the Tories meant they would lose 'virulently anti-Conservative' voters . Cuts: Public sector workers had left because their pensions were hit and some faced job cuts, he claimed . He said: 'They're the ones who still scream and shout blue murder and have done so without pause for breath for half a decade. And they're loud and they're noisy and they're angry. 'And that was a significant chunk of support that basically wanted to be associated with any party that didn't have the remotest sniff of power. 'There just is a constituency out there that wants to be entirely bereft of any responsibility. So they're clearly also very pissed off. It was 'wholly predictable and totally unsurprising' that public sector workers were at risk of being 'disenchanted'. He added that those factors are 'probably more important explanations than tuition fees, or this decision or that decision, although those obviously play a part'. Mr Clegg said some areas of country are a Lib Dem 'desert' and the party is now running a 'defensive' campaign focusing on winning where it retains support. 'Petulant': A Tory source has told the Daily Mail: 'This sums Nick Clegg. Its everyone's fault but his own' He admitted there are 'great parts of the country now where there is just no Liberal Democrat presence' citing the North of England and areas where they are fighting against Labour. He added: 'We're not going to waste any time, any effort, any money, any energy on places where we're not going to win—which, by the way, is the vast majority of the country.' In 2010 the Lib Dems won 23 per cent of the vote but national polls in recent months have put them on single digits. A Tory source said: 'This sums Nick Clegg. Its everyone's fault but his own. He is like a petulant child.' Despite his party facing the prospect of losing dozens of seats, Mr Clegg used the interview to stake a claim for a particular government department his party would like to run if he is back in coalition after May 7. He said he would call for the Lib Dems to be given control of education, and criticised the 'fruitless and fruitcakey' policy 'spasms' under former Education Secretary Michael Gove.
target: Nick Clegg lists why Lib Dem support 'collapsed' in Economist interview .
  Blames 'protest voters' who didn't want to take responsibility for collation .
  Claimed public sector workers left because pensions hit and jobs cut .
  Says those reasons were more important than policy decisions he made .
  Tory source says interview  'sums up' Clegg, who 'is like a petulant child'