The Daily Mail turns its guns on Nick Clegg. The Liberal Democrats must be doing something right

You know you've arrived as a political force when the Daily Mail turns its full, furious firepower in your direction.

So perhaps this page devoted to virulently attacking Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats on the Daily Mail's website isn't all bad news for a party more used to being studiously ignored by much of the media.

Underneath the strapline "The great Liberal deception", the Mail sets its finest writers to work demolishing every aspect of Clegg's party and programme.

"How the Lib Dems would release 60,000 convicts" is the main headline, while other articles attack the party's stance on immigration and define the Lib Dems as "a party full of shadow lobbyists".

Quentin Letts, the paper's sketchwriter, crows "So much for Mr Persil White!" in a piece drawing attention to Clegg's expenses claims, while columnist Peter Oborne informs his readers that the Lib Dems are "just as dishonest as the other parties".

His colleague Harry Phibbs predicts hopefully that "Clegg's ratings boost is a bubble waiting to burst".

Today's Mail leader column is also included, its headline a brisk admonishment to any readers tempted to stray from the fold: "It's time for voters to wake up and get real."

Columnist Melanie Phillips takes a more despairing tone, bemoaning the fact that nowadays an election "can turn on 90 minutes of Britain's Got Politics".

So what is this page exactly? Some news websites use tags to group a collection of stories about the same issue in one place (here's our Liberal Democrat keyword page).

But this is not the Mail's version of that.

Take a look at the top-right corner: it's actually the "Debate" page, the equivalent of the comment and analysis section in a newspaper. The Mail seems to have decided that pretty much the only issue worth debating is Clegg's suitability for power.

As backhanded compliments go, it's a pretty spectacular one.