For those three people who don’t yet know, the Labour party refused to make any concessions to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. As a result, the Lib Dems were left with the choices of either a Conservative minority government or forming a coalition with the Conservatives. One or other has happened and now David Cameron is going to become Prime Minister.
We don’t know yet what the deal is, but the rumour is that party members will be balloted. I am unsure how I shall vote – that depends on the details of the deal, but either way I shall remain a member of the party and stand by its democratic decision.
The Liberal Democrats will be pilloried for this, and have probably been set back electorally fifteen years. But if the Conservatives have most votes *and* most seats, and if Labour won’t work with us, there are no other options open but to try to moderate the damage the Tories will undoubtedly do (just as if the situation were reversed we should have had to moderate the equally evil acts they would no doubt perpetrate).
It’s come to something when a Conservative in Ten Downing Street is actually the least-worst option open to us, and when the closest the Lib Dems have ever got to power is also the event that will destroy a large part of their support base.
Just remember, anyone who wants to talk about ‘betrayal’ – We did exactly what we said, and negotiated in good faith. Labour wouldn’t give ground on human rights and electoral reform. The Tories apparently would. Don’t DARE ever claim to me that Labour are ‘progressive’ again. If they’re more right-wing and authoritarian than Tory scum now, then you can call them Tories or you can call them fascists, but you can’t call them progressive. We tried for the deal you wanted.
Don’t let this make anyone think I will support the government, though. I will support the LIBERAL DEMOCRATS, and work to get the Tories out, just as before.
Sci-Ence! Justice Leak! 
Trying to make yourself feel good by shifting the blame to Labour. Nice try, but we all know Clegg is a Tory by instinct anyway. He has sold his party and the country out for 30 pieces of Ashcroft silver.
If Clegg were a Tory by instinct he’d be a Tory. We don’t know what deal he’s made, but Labour didn’t even *offer* a deal.
And given that the Labour leadership are a bunch of unrepentant war criminals who connive in torture and have put in place all the main elements of a police state while destroying the economy, I honestly don’t know how you – or anyone else who considers defending them – can even bear to look at yourself in the mirror.
Steve. You know none of that’s true. Labour could’ve tried for a deal. But they didn’t. Their MPs weren’t up for it. Except that, and move on.
What does `tory by instinct` mean? All these old-fashioned phrases bandied about.
Fact: Labour have left us with the biggest structural debt in history – you can’t just wish it away
Fact: the Lib Dems will smooth away the Tory excesses
What does `progressivism
what does `progressivism` mean? More forms for low paid people to sign to get more of their own money? More housing bubbles that require those same people to rent sub-standard accommodation? You lot were supposed to manage the economy better – fat lot of good that did.
I hope Cable reveals just how severe the black hole is.
Nothing forced the Lib Dems into a deal with the Tories.The Lib Dems asked Labour to talk, not the other way around.Labour couldn’t promise all its MPs would back PR in the Commons, quite right too.
You’ve made your bed now lie in it.
“.The Lib Dems asked Labour to talk”
Er… exactly. We tried to make a deal with Labour and Labour wouldn’t.
And the sticking point was actually ID cards…
I am a troll
So, as a Canadian, I’m curious to know what the Lib Dem’s options were. Did they literally HAVE to form a coalition? (Over here you become Prime Minister if your party got a plurality of votes, rather than a majority.)
Yeah, I’ve been wondering the same thing. Now, obviously, if a coalition formed between the NDP, Liberals, and Bloc, the Tories wouldn’t be in power here — but no one expected such a coalition to happen. Then again, both the Liberals and NDP have propped up the Tory minority government by not voting down certain measures, which the Lib-Dems would have to do in the case of a Tory minority government in Britain, which does amount to being in bed with them to some. I know I’ve had my problems with the NDP and its voting with the Tories.
Three options:
1) Force another election. Which would have caused the Tories to win an overall majority.
2) “Supply and confidence” where they don’t vote down essential legislation of a Tory minority government. Then the Tories call another election in six months’ time and win an overall majority.
3) Enter into a coalition, get given ministerial posts and the chance to implement at least *some* of the Lib Dems’ most important policies and block some of the Tories’ worst excesses.
Three horrible choices, all of which are, frankly, electoral suicide. We were in a no-win situation.
Thanks for the info.
And by the way, speaking as someone with no stake in the election whatsoever aside from wanting progressive politics to sweep the globe in a rainbow of awesomeness, I’d be happy to hear you keep commenting on politics. I know you promised to Spend The Next Four Years Just Talking About Batman, but honestly I’m more interested in what’s going on now that the election’s over and we’re seeing all this fallout. For the next couple of weeks, at least, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
By the way, people keep saying that the Tories would win another election in the near future with an overall majority – which I’d guess is probably true, certainly enough so to make the LibDems rationally nervous. But I’m now wondering if it looks certain enough from the Tory leadership’s perspective.
After all, they’d be up against a Labour party with a new leader, who might or might not be much good, but who’d start with the large electoral advantage of Not Being Gordon Brown – and the Labour core vote proved seriously robust on the 6th. They’d also be up against a LibDem campaign with the slogan “We tried to work with them, but yeah, they’re bastards”, which would require some defensive footwork. And the British electorate has a reputation for not liking to be bothered with elections too often, and for punishing the party responsible.
None of which might be enough to stop them when they’re on a role. But it still looks like a bit of a gamble for them – if they squeezed the LibDem vote a bit but not the Labour component so hard, that might not be enough to avoid another hung result, only with a less amicable third party to talk to. And sodit, election campaigns are expensive to run, even for the Tories.
Which might explain why Cameron was so willing to deal with the LibDems. Better to take the current profit on offer than to follow a path which might take everyone somewhere too damn uncertain.
Andrew, did you not say in a recent post that you would resign as a member of the Liberal Democrats if they joined a coalition with the Conservatives? I thought I recalled you saying this but can’t find the comment. Have you edited it out or have I got this wrong?
Never said it in a post, though I did, foolishly and without thinking, say it on Twitter on election night/morning.
I *did* say here that I would *quite probably* leave the party if there was a Tory coalition, but that was before I saw quite how much the Tories appear to have been willing to give up.
I don’t edit my posts to remove stupid statements I’ve made without leaving some acknowledgement there…