Nick Clegg, the new leader of the Liberal Democrats, declared yesterday that he did not believe in God but refused to say whether he had taken drugs. Neither of which dented his sudden popularity with other party leaders, as Gordon Brown followed David Cameron in courting him.

A hung Parliament looks a distinct possibility at the next election and as Mr Clegg made his first visits in the job and worked on his frontbench reshuffle, the Prime Minister announced that he had spoken to Mr Clegg earlier and congratulated him on his election.

"We look forward to working together on the issues that unite our two parties and unite the country,” he said.

Mr Brown added that he was sure there was common ground between Labour and the Lib Dems on constitutional reform. Last weekend Mr Cameron called for a “progressive alliance” with the Liberal Democrats and the Greens to decentralise power in Britain. But Mr Clegg wasn’t for wooing.

Speaking at Bacon’s College in Rotherhithe, southeast London, Mr Clegg said: “I think politics is broken. I think the system has broken and just does not work any more. The great crisis in British politics is that neither Labour or the Conservatives realise that the system they defend is not working.

“Two-party politics is dying on its feet but they have not realised it.”

When a student asked him what he might do if he theoretically became prime minister, he responded, laughing: “Theoretically? You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

He also attacked Mr Cameron, calling him “naive” for his policy on families and said he would adopt a much broader view of family life. Mr Clegg said: “I believe so strongly in families, but I believe in all kinds of family and all shapes and sizes.

“This idea that David Cameron has that all families look the same — a couple with a white picket fence, a couple of kids, a labrador and the rest of it, and that all they need is £20 thrown at them from the tax system that will tempt them to dance up the aisle and stay married for ever — is incredibly naive. It is patronising. But, much more importantly, it shuts out the millions of people who do not live their lives like that.”

Earlier, on BBC Radio 5 Live, Mr Clegg was asked whether he believed in God. He said no. Later, on the BBC News website, he said he had “enormous respect for people who have religious faith”, that his wife was Catholic and that his children were being brought up Catholic.

“However, I myself am not an active believer, but the last thing I would do when talking or thinking about religion is approach it with a closed heart or a closed mind.”

Asked whether he had ever taken illegal drugs, he replied: “I’m going to cast a veil over that. It’s the one thing I agree with David Cameron on. I think politicians are entitled to a private life before they go into politics.”

Mr Clegg was joined on his first day in the job by the musician Brian Eno, whom he has brought in as an adviser on how to “reach out beyond Westminster to people who don't get a say in politics”.

Mr Clegg said: “I will fight for a society where everyone gets a fair chance in life, and no one is condemned by the circumstances of their birth.

“Education has got to be front and centre of Britain’s agenda if we’re going to make that happen. So I will raise funding for the poorest children to the levels in private schools.”

God squad

Neil Kinnock, Michael Foot, and Hugh Gaitskell were the last political leaders to admit to being non-believers. Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, John Smith, John Major, Margaret Thatcher, Charles Kennedy, Sir Menzies Campbell, Michael Howard, Iain Duncan Smith and William Hague all professed their faith.

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