Is Clegg’s inclination for the Tories? Yet another key meeting is just about to start on this most extraordinary of days. The new Lib Dem parliamentary party are having their second session of the day and this meeting could be crucial. With the Tory offer on an AV referendum the yellows have probably got just about as much as they can get from the blues. The big question is how going with Labour would appear and what it would do…
Does the move really stop Cameron becoming PM? What an amazing political day. Brown’s move could have totally changed the discussions on the form of the next government. To find out more about Marf’s cartoon click here. Mike Smithson
Gordon Brown to be gone by September In a quite dramatic statement Gordon Brown has announced that he is standing aside as Labour leader with the aim of having a replacement in by the Labour conference in September. The plan seems to be that this will make it easier for the Lib Dems to do a deal with the Lib Dems. It has repeatedly been said that Clegg finds real difficult to deal with the current PM. So Nick Clegg…
SkyNews The latest suggestions are that this is getting closer but it’s much narrower than the full coalition that was being talked about over the weekend. Lib Dem MPs are meeting at the moment – Cameron will face his MPs this evening. Mike Smithson
Rod Crosby on “The Holy Grail – PR-Squared?” All electoral systems have flaws. Some are philosophical, some are technical, some esoterical, some are merely anathema to one party or another on grounds of perceived electoral disadvantage. In the UK, objections to Proportional Representation have tended to revolve around the loss of the constituency link and the realisation that majority government would become a thing of the past. Recently however, the flaws of FPTP have been thrown into sharp relief. Aside…
“0944: Senior Lib Dem sources say Nick Clegg is prepared to negotiate seriously with Labour if Gordon Brown is prepared to step down quickly, says the BBC’s Iain Watson. As we speak, Schools Secretary Ed Balls, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson and former Labour spin doctor Alistair Campbell are all in Downing Street holding a meeting with Mr Brown.” BBC
All the signs are that the Tory talks with the Lib Dems on a possible agreement following the election are coming to a resolution with a meeting of the new Conservative parliamentary party this evening being one of the final hurdles. It’s hard to see Tory MPs, more than half of whom are new, not backing Cameron though it might not be as smooth a ride as the leadership would have hoped. The prospect of power, even if that is…