Another unelected labour PM

Comment from DH last night, and as a German he is used to coalitions - it is the norm: They are being pushed too hard by the press and the public to reach a deal. Coalition talks can take weeks, it is not unusual for this to happen.

The German big coalition with CSU/SPD (conservative/labour) talks took 2 weeks and these are parties who are used to these talks.

Gawd, TDiddy, horrible as that thought is I'm almost tempted to hope they try it just to see how it works. Can you imagine, say, George Osborne having to job share with Harriet Harman?

well Labour are politically closer to the Tories in recent time

Any smart strategist would leave this one alone and let the otherside have a go. Only snitch for the conservatives is the PR thing that is hatching. How best for them to stop it?

minthumbug

that pretty much sums it up. though possibly if our parties were used to horse trading, this wouldn't be going like that...

Maybe DC should pursue a ConLab coalition to play GB off against NC

If this unholy alliance between Labour and the Lib Dems goes ahead I truly hope there will be riots on the streets in England. Yes, other parts of the UK inexplicably still lean towards Labour, but they have devolved power to a greater or lesser degree. England is stuck with the UK Parliament determining all its affairs.

A Lab/Lib Dem coalition would make the whole West Lothian question blow up like never before. Not only would the country as a whole have a Labour government back in power that was supposedly well and truly kicked out by the electorate, but England would have policies imposed on it by solely by the votes of Scottish, Welsh and Irish MPs! Not to mention that England would also be bearing the brunt of all the cuts over the next few years whilst the nationalist parties hold the Govt to ransom. It's a recipe for the dissolution of the whole Union if you ask me.

Was John Major an elected PM?

not at first, though he was elected when it came to it. His party at least had a vote on it...

Agreed TDiddy. No PM is ever selected by the electorate.

Was John Major an elected PM?

I guess we don't have a presidential system...if the Tories or anyone else wants that system then maybe they should throw it into the pot for discussion with the LDs?

which is exactly the sort of thing you need to be able to do under PR (OR a hung parliament!)

Hmm, good point re the triple lock. But I suppose it's a feature of the FPTP system too, isn't it?

Is it true that it was brought in to stop a LibLab coalition? Hang on, quick wiki reference here Yes, was to prevent Paddy Ashdown ( I LOVE HIM!) getting into bed with ole' Tony.

I agree policy ... none of the parties is actually set up for PR at present. Even the triple lock for the Lib Dem's is problematic and they're the ones most suited to a change to PR ...

No party should be able to unilaterally determine the way that it gets to stay in power.

That's how a dictatorship works and the lib dems, if they accept labour's offer, should reject a unilateral change.

Why not have a referrendum where the options are STV, AV and FPTP and a presumption of a move to AV. If no option gets 50%, we go to AV. At least that way there's no change without it going to the electorate in some form.

(The irony of this does not escape me and is entirely mischevious.)

Edgar, I think most people who voted LibDem understand the consequences of PR - I know I did. But let's not forget, the current situation isn't the result of PR; it's the result of FPTP, a system that encourages antagonism and partisan politics. People I've spoken to from other countries that do operate PR say that the post-election period tends to be pretty calm, as the parties already know which other parties they are likely to do deals with, and the manifestos are written with this in mind.

According to this link:

'A YouGov poll for The Sunday Times showed 62 per cent of voters favoured a more proportional system of voting. A BPIX poll for The Mail on Sunday found 60 per cent would prefer proportional representation to the current system. The Sunday Telegraph commissioned an ICM poll which found 48 per cent of voters favoured a move to PR while 39 per cent backed the current system.'

PR is not purely a LibDem issue.

Agree that it absolutely ought to go to a referendum though.

The Libdumbs have really done it. How long will we be with no govt? If not careful they'll lose everything.

I think a lot of people liked the idea of no one party being in overall charge but didn't actually think about the practicalities of it. I don't think NC spouting off during the debates about working together (re deficit etc) helped either. Sounded a bit hippyish imo and not workable at all. Whatever flavour this coalition forms I give it a year max before the next GE.

Look, Reid is an old-school LAbour hack who hates the idea of losing what he sees as his right to rule in Scotland. That's long gone, if it was ever there. They are going to have to get less tribal and start talking. Too bad.

They can't offer it without a referendum,it is not in their gift because even with the Liberals they cannot guarentee to get it through the House of Commons and even if they do it will bre blocked in committee and by the house of Lords

I'm in favour of electoral reform and I think it's too big an issue to just decide in parliament. A referendum is the correct way of doing it --- if for no other reason that it's democracy!!!!