The Lib Dems are holding a meeting of both their MPs and the Federal Executive at 7.30pm. It is now widely expected that this meeting will approve a coalition deal with the Conservatives. Those who have taken the temperature of the Lib Dem Federal Executive say that approval is in the bag.
More here. UPDATE: The Standard reports that Brown is set to quit as Prime Minister tonight.
As James suggested, the mood is shifting against a Lib-Lab coalition this afternoon. And now the idea has been dealt its biggest blow so far: Andy Burnham has spoken out against it public. Taking the kind of deliberate step that suggests he may be up for the Labour leadership after all, the Health Secretary said: “I think we have got to respect the results of the general election and we can’t get away from the fact that Labour didn’t win.” And there’s more. According to the irrepressible Paul Waugh, Burnham first made his discontent known in Labour’s Cabinet meeting last night – where, according to Channel 4’s Gary Gibbon, he
The main development of this morning has been Labour MPs throwing up obstacles to a Lib Lab deal. At the moment there are four main problems. First, David Blunkett and others arguing that Labour would be better off going into opposition and—this is implicit—letting the Tories and the Lib Dems make the cuts. One union fixer told me Labour couldn’t go into a coalition with a party committed to cuts to benefits and tax credits. Second, Jon Cruddas, a champion of party democracy, has demanded that the parliamentary party, the NEC and the unions be consulted on the terms of any deal. Third, there are lots of Labour MPs letting
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves: some sort of deal between the Lib Dems and the Tories is still a distinct possibility, even if negotiations have been rocked by the events of yesterday. But whether it goes through or not, Clegg has seriously dented his credibility in Tory circles. Backbenchers who were warming to the idea of a formal Lib-Con coalition a few days ago – if only to scupper Labour’s hopes – are now dead set against it. The very notion of Clegg as Home Secretary is becoming a collective anathema. The question now is whether – failing a Lib-Lab coalition – the Tory leadership is more inclined towards
Sam Coates reports that the Tory right want Cameron to renege on the commitment to a referendum on AV. You can see why they want to do this but it’s ill-advised. The Lib Dems have destroyed their credibility by indulging blatant self-interest and the Tories should avoid making a similar mistake. The need for unity is absolute. It’s time to put-up and shut-up in the national interest. Right now, that means reaching an accommodation, either in coalition or in a minority government with Lib Dem backing or abstention. If that requires a referendum on voting reform then so be it. Besides, facilitating a referendum is not to endorse reform. The
The emnity between Labour and the SNP is legendary. Scenting opportunity, Angus Robertson has tried to appeal to Labour’s progressive instincts and substantial Scottish support to secure protection from cuts. John Reid and David Blunkett have talked sense about the damage a dalliance with nationalists would do to Labour’s English position. Now Douglas Alexander has said that he can’t envisage an deal with the SNP. This adds to the growing sense that the grand coalition will never form – a minority Lib-Lab coalition remains a possibility but an increasingly unlikely one. Boris has it right. This is the lurid politics of proportional representational laid bare. Michael Portillo and Malcolm Rifkind
Gary Gibbon reports: ‘Last night’s two-hour meeting of the Lib Dem MPs (with a sprinkling of peers) seems to have swung the party decisively behind a Lib-Con coalition deal. An announcement is widely expected now today.’ It’s preferable to the alternative and as George Osborne made clear this morning the Tories can do nothing without Lib Dem support. There’s a suggestion that Clegg may have forced Cameron’s hand into further concessions with his sudden wooing of Labour, in which case he’s a very clever and brave shyster. I’ll believe it when it happens though. PS: A note of caution, as if one were needed. Clegg can’t put a time on
‘The Tories are stuffed,’ a resigned Shadow Cabinet minister tells Gary Gibbon. Endorsing any such view is premature but, with Lib Dem elders counselling Clegg to join Labour, the most likely outcome is a coalition of the losers, albeit nice progressive ones. Ah, the irony of the New Politics – plus ca change and all that. Politics has descended into a grotesque spectacle of blackmail, and bungled devolution is to blame. As James reported last night, talks with the Tories ran aground on sands that are the territory of Holyrood and Scottish Liberals presented every obstacle possible. Plaid MPs prostitute themselves at a £100 million a piece and Northern Ireland’s
Today’s papers have the lowdown on the events of the past few days, and one thing is becoming increasingly clear: a Lib-Con deal faces not just the opposition of the Lib Dem base, but also some of the party’s most influential figures. In a Times account of a Lib Dem meeting yesterday, it’s revealed that Sir Menzies Cambell “urged his successor not to bind the party into a irrevocable deal with the Tories.” Meanwhile, the Telegraph reports that “Vince Cable played a significant role in resisting an agreement [with the Tories].” And Paddy Ashdown was across the airwaves this morning, explaining how a Lib-Lab coalition could provide “stability” and “legitimacy,”
I am told that one of the Lib Dems groups most opposed to doing a deal with the Tories was its Scottish MPs. Their view was that Scotland had voted massively against the Tories and that any party seen as their representatives in Scotland would be massacred. This has set off chatter in Tory circles. There was already irritation that the party has a majority in England and Wales but was still having to compromise on issues that have been devolved to Scotland. But to not be able to make a coalition deal because of your unpopularity north of the border is to add insult to injury.
One striking aspect to this evening’s brouhaha is how senior Labour figures are going out of their way not to endorse anyone as Gordon Brown’s successor. Brown himself has said that he won’t back an “individual candidate,” and Peter Mandelson and Alastair Campbell have made similar noises in television interviews. There are, I imagine, two main reasons for this. First, it’s all too soon: Labour won’t want to engage in full internecine combat while there’s still the chance of a deal with the Lib Dems. And, second, they will want to create the impression that – contrary to Gordon Brown’s ascension to power in 2007 – the next Labour leader
Well, well today just keeps getting more and more extraordinary. The Tories have responded to the Lib Dems beginning formal negotiations with Labour by offering the Lib Dems a referendum on AV in exchange for a full coalition with Lib Dems in the Cabinet. The Tories stress that this is their final offer to the Lib Dems. Having spoken to several members of the shadow Cabinet, it appears that the offer is designed to allow the Tory party to seize the moral high ground. They believe that if the Lib Dems were to join with Labour to ram through a change in the voting system—Labour are offering the Lib Dems
And so it begins. With Brown’s statment earlier, the Labour leadership contenders are already creeping out of of the Downing Street woodwork. Paul Waugh tweets that David Miliband will announce his candidacy tonight. The News of the World reports that Ed Balls has his campaign primed and ready to detonate. And I’d be very surprised if there aren’t more names about the enter the fray. All this activity is sending electic currents through the Westminster air – and it could end up burning Labour and the Lib Dems. Both sides are are saying that they want to create a “strong” and “stable” government. But how can Clegg & Co. see
We have just witnessed Gordon Brown’s last and most audacious confidence trick. “Gordon Brown to resign” says the television newsflash: but the story was the very opposite. Gordon Brown is staying on, saying – pretty much – that it will take an SAS operation to get him out of No.10 before the autumn. He declared a “constitutional duty” to stay until a new administration is formed “with majority support in the House of Commons”. Untrue. You just need a majority to pass laws. One can govern with a parliamentary minority (see Alex Salmond in Edinburgh, and Harold Wilson in 1974). Cameron won the right to govern, when he last week
And here’s a transcript of the statement “We have a parliamentary and not presidential system in this country and as I said on Friday, with no party able to command a parliamentary majority arising from the general election, my constitutional duty as prime minister is to ensure that government continues while parties explore options for forming a new administration with majority support in the House of Commons. “The business of government has continued including concerted action in Europe today to avert the financial crisis in the Euro area. Alistair Darling the chancellor spent much of his time yesterday in the European finance ministers meeting in Brussels. This morning I have
Gordon Brown’s announcement that the Liberal Democrats have requested formal coalition talks is the best news that the Conservative party has had since the polls closed on Thursday. David Cameron can now say that his party has negotiated in good faith and that his broad, comprehensive, and open offer to the Lib Dems is on table and they can take it or leave it. If the Lib Dems do end up going into coalition with Labour they would completely discredit themselves and be slaughtered at any subsequent election, remember getting PR through the Lords would take at least a year. The markets would also not be impressed by a coalition
You’re witnessing history, CoffeeHousers: Gordon Brown has just announced his departure from frontline politics. In a statement outside Downing St, he confirmed that he would be stepping down as Labour leader by September – triggering a leadership contest in the process. It’s clear that he’s using himself as a bargaining chip, making a Lib-Lab deal more palatable to Nick Clegg. Indeed, he even said that formal talks between the parties are now commencing. This threatens not just to shake the kaleidoscope, but to smash it to pieces. Until 17:05 this afternoon, most folk thought that a Lib-Con deal was imminent. But surely Brown wouldn’t have taken this step if there
Weirdness reigns in Westminster at the moment, as the entire political establishment sits drooling and waiting for insights into the Lib-Con talks. The latest negotiator to break cover was the Lib Dem’s David Laws who managed, very artfully, to give very little away. And so we were told that the Lib Dems are speaking with Labour, and that they are seeking “clarification” from the Tories over every issue from eduction to tax and electoral reform. In other words: all the parties concerned are still negotiating. There is a growing sense – fuelled by reports that Nick Clegg is meeting his MPs later this evening – that we may not get
