If Nick Clegg is to get his way, there will be some form of electoral reform in the UK parliamentary system. This could pave the way for more European style coalition governments in the future with either AV or PR as opposed to FPTP we are more likely to see more parliaments that work on consensus rather than along party lines. So is this a good or a bad thing?
We knew that Nick would be talking to both David and Gordon in relation to the results of last week’s election, however the events as they transpired yesterday, with the PM announcing he is to stand down by the end of the summer, certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons in the Conservative party.
No sooner was the PM’s announcement made, effectively publicly confirming to the LibDems that they would have a new Labour leader with which to work, then William Hague announced suddenly that voting reform would be on the table and put to public referendum, not just in parliamentary committee.
Now, whether the smart maneuvering was by Labour or the LibDems is not yet known, but it has certainly given the LibDems some leverage as the Cons flurried to prevent a ‘coalition of Losers‘ overtaking them in the race to form the next government. Me thinks David was playing hardball on the one area of policy in which the Conservative and Liberal Democrats differ most. He had his bluff called and had to come up with a better offer than the one that was on the table, certainly as far as we have been told, as late as yesterday morning prior to the PM’s announcement.
I may or may not have said before that I believe the Conservatives should go ahead and form a minority government. Labour should retire Gordon Brown, choose a new leader and be prepared to fight renewed and re-invigourated in the next general election (whenever that may be) and the Liberal Democrats should act according to their principles and vote on policies proposed by the new government as these dictate. A coalition with either Labour or Conservatives will not be a good thing for them or us in the long run and is bound to break down eventually.
The story of the ‘Fox and the Scorpion’ come to mind when I look at what is currently going on.
The electorate didn’t have the courage to give the LibDems a bigger say in the politics of this country. They didn’t have the trust in either Labour or Conservatives to rule unconditionally with a majority share of the seats in parliament, perhaps we the electorate deserve the situation we have created.
The parties should stop the prolonged negotiations, do the right thing and get on with it.
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