I feel that the endgame is drawing near. Word from Iain Martin is that Number 10 has given up any hope of a Lib-Lab deal. The talks at the Cabinet Office are still going on and trying to hammer out an agreement. David Cameron is meeting Tory MPs at the moment to reassure he's not selling off the family silver to the LibDems. LibDem and Tory spokesmen are being very statesmanlike on TV. I was on with Norman Baker earlier and I couldn't disagree with a word he said - and that doesn't often happen. Ben Brogan believes the compromise on electoral reform will be a free vote on whether to have a referendum on the issue. I cannot see why that would be a step too far for Tory MPs. It's something I have floated in various interviews over the last few days.
I suspect Clegg and Cameron will meet again this evening. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they could announce a deal tonight?
UPDATE 5.40pm: Clegg and Cameron have talked on the phone. Hague and his team have just emerged giving details of the issues which have been covered. He says they will be meeting again within the next 24 hours after having reported back to their respective leaders.
18 comments:
As I tried to say on a previous blog : if the libs don't want to talk, then let them sod off. I'm sick and tired of socialism and not looking forward to a year of the extreme socialism that is the liberal democratic sort. Get us EU and get rid of the 3 million third world immigrants. If a party does that, the I'll be content.
I want to see Vince Cable as Chancellor & David Laws as Education Secretary. Nick Clegg can be in charge of constitutional reform. Labour should be sent packing. It's unseemly to have Brown in Downing St after he lost. PR actually suits Labour more than any other party. They're 7 points behind the Tories and less than 50 seats behind. If the talks with Lib Dems don't work then Tories should go for minority govt. It's the only democratic option. Talks about rainbow coalition of losers is certainly an unconstitutional joke. Hopefully this would be the last election under this ridiculous system. All other elections should use the method we use for EU Parliament elections - d'Hont I believe it's called.
@john in cheshire
And when you’ve finished banging your head?
@ AProlefrom1984 said...
“Talks about rainbow coalition of losers is certainly an unconstitutional joke.”
Deeply improbable as it is, it certainly isn’t “unconstitutional”. Last time I looked, all parties were “losers”.
I think Prole you need to consider Clegg at the Home Office, Laws in charge of Electoral Reform and Cable in charge of emptying the bins.
In fact a corner cupboard could be put aside as the Grayling/Cable office, with a big padlock on the outside.
That should do it.
Preferably with room for a little Huhne too. He can talk at them for a few millennia. Without a comma.
Hey AProl, how about Clegg as PM, and Cameron as the cleaner at No 10, after all the Tories didnt get a real mandate so why should they have anything, then Gordon can help Vince to clean up the country.
@AProlefrom1984
A Tory minority government is not possible in the short term. If the talks fail I have no doubt that Brown WILL cobble together enough seats to stay in power. It's not unconstitutional at all. Brown is PM as long as he can command a majority in the House of Commons. He has the goodies to buy the support. PR referendum for the LibDems - cash for the Nationalists. Simples.
I wonder if Gordon Brown will mount a legal challenge against Nick Clegg's decision to give the "right" to Cameron to form a government? Constitutionally, the right resided with Gordon Brown. Gordon Brown would remain in power until the legal process is over...
If Cameron offers anything substantive on PR he is a fool who will do anything to get his mitts on the gravy train of power - Clegg's election failure puts him in such a weak position he does not need to be thrown any sort of PR bone.
If there is any electoral reform to be done, the existing system should be changed to ensure constituencies are fairer for all parties and to remove the overblown influence of the devolved nationalist parties in Scotland, Wales and N Ireland.
Cameron should offer the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish independance and then tell Clegg to bog off.
Alex Massie points out that scottish labour MPs would be loath to vote for PR as it would do them out of jobs and power.
I think that the tories are on fairly safe ground offering something on 'PR' because not much will happen. What is important (and fair) is we should have equal sized constituencies. This would help the LDs at the expense of Labour.
Clegg and Co should see the sense of this. And what we want is a sound economy generating revenues. We can argue about what to do with the revenues when we get them. Right now we are stuffed and we need to act. I would have preferred a tory majority - but the reality of that bis it would have been narrow and precarious.
My friend from India phoned me to ask the progress to unhung the parliament. I was reading Guido's blog and read to my friend the following which followed the news that Brown met Clegg:
"Krishnan Guru-Murthy (C4 News) has sketched out a very different scenario which would follow Gordon Brown quitting:-
The process this would involve is so convoluted as to make it almost certainly impossible – but the theory goes that Gordon Brown resigns as Labour leader but not as prime minister, while Harriet Harman as caretaker leader negotiates with Nick Clegg. This would be on the basis that David Miliband will stand unopposed by any serious candidate as new Labour leader, so that the Lib Dems know exactly who they would go into government with eventually.
Once the deal is done Gordon Brown goes to the palace and advises the Queen that the caretaker Harriet Harman can form a government with the Lib Dems, then once Labour has its new leader in place she goes to the palace and advises the Queen that Miliband will be taking over as prime minister.
Guru-Murthy admits “it sounds either so mad as to be unworkable, or so intricately thought through as to be plausible. It also requires Ed Balls and Ed Miliband to give up their hopes of Labour leadership"
My Indian friend was shocked that this could happen in Britain. He said even the most corrupt political leader in India backed by the Bollywood criminal gang will shudder to do something like the above!
I hope the end is nigh for Brown and Labour.
But....
It is reported that Brown met Clegg for an update. Fair enough, for a caretaker PM, but why not Cameron??? It stinks.....
So, public pressure is vital to bang the heads of the 2 C's together, and their parties. These are new times, change is required. Otherwise Brown and Labour could sneak in through the back door.
There is a Facebook campaign...send a postcard to Downing Street simply saying 'Brown Out, Labour Out'.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brown-Out-Labour-Out/117816668251252?ref=sgm#!
Electoral reform msut include more than just the voting system.
It must cover the WLQ, boundaries, sizes, parliament terms, recall etc etc.
It's all taking far too long! Quit pussy footing around Dave and put the boot in.
http://cyberboris.wordpress.com/2010/05/09/my-negotiating-tips-for-cameron/
This is how you should handle it.
Many tory voters including me are getting to the point think that Libdems , a defeated and deflated party which came 3rd have not learned the lessons why they are in that position for more than 50 years-mostly due to their loony policies.
Give Clegg and Co a free voting in parliament. All Tories then need is 20 votes to vote it down.
Iain would you be a sweety and tell us what it was that Norman Baker daid ,that you could not disagree with
Last time I spoke to him ( well at him really ...hem hem), he was spouting some re heated pinky hippy anti US nonsense and reassurring his Public sector fans that he was left of New Labour
Having said that I very much supprt your pro coalition views and truth to tell I have allowed myself to become excited that the best of botH Parrties may come together
Even Norman Baker has his good points , inb fact he is a fine local MP
What some seem to be ignoring is the fact that even if there is a Referendum on PR, the outcome of the Referendum is by no means certain. After all, what is The Question?
Introduction of PR in Britain will/would take years, not months. Legislation has to be drafted and enacted, the complications of the Scottish and Welsh Assemblies, the Referendum itself would take time to set up, there would have to be an opening period of time for all parties to debate and set out their proposals etc etc.
Meanwhile the IMF is preparing for its interesting visit to London.
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