any other LD supporters horrified at the idea of the Lib Dems propping up a Tory government?

[geekgirl]

What's with all this talk by Nick Clegg about siding with the Tories if they happen to get the most seats?
Surely that really would result in gridlock, plus do Lib Dem supporters feel happy about helping Cameron become PM?! I know I don't...

I don't think there will be a pact. NC was saying, yesterday how they will support the party with most votes, as opposed to most seats (since polls last week would have had a hung parliament with labour holding more seats, despite fewer votes than the tories.)

Shirley Williams, last week was saying pretty much the same with the caveat that they would seek consensus where there is common ground, but make it pretty clear where they don't agree.

Whatever the outcome, next week, I don't think the libdems would be unconditionally straight into the pockets of whichever party came first.

TheHeathen

'If exactly the % of people voted Tory as voted LD, the Tories would have many, many more seats.'

And if exactly the same % of people voted Labour as voted Tory, Labour would end up with many many more seats.

Unfair.

(I know, ajandjjmum, I was just trying to contradict swc's democracy jibe in a snappy way without going into all the electoral maths, which frankly make my head hurt!)

Me too!! I'm just rather embarassed that I've reached this great age without realising how huge the unfairness is.

A friend who is connected with the Tory party tells me that you need to add over 4% on to the Labour poll results, to get the true balanced picture, ie. Labour 26% Tory 30% would give approximately the same number of seats.

I'm a bit disappointed in NC. I don't know if I'm right but I always think if you vote Liberal (and I always have) you're centrist with a bit of a leftie in you. What I am certainly not is any kind of right wing, hunt supporting, anti European Tory. So God I really really hope he stops this cosying up to the Tories!!

Fio
Labour benefit from the current system, so I hardly think that the Tories would have devised it!

Cameron and Clegg are incredibly similar from a political perspective so hardly surprising that Clegg is talking co-operation. They are true 'Liberals' in the original sense of the word. i.e. fiscally conservative abut left-leaning on social issues.

Their parties as a whole are obviously more different. (ie many Lib Dems taking the left-of-centre ground and the Tory masses leaning right.) In both cases, the leaders have to reign the more 'extreme' elements of their parties, and claim the middle ground.

The prospect of a tory pact with lib dem is pushing me back the way of labour too, and dh

foolish one NC

OK reading shirley williams makes me feel more confident about what tehyare doing

I like Shirley, she's good

I still ahven't decided though

and we have a form of PR here in Wales (I have a link somewhere) for the AM and it is one that maintains a constituency link and works wquite well imo, i'd like tos ee that floated out (and as our AM is ld, so no doubt would they!)

I have to say that although I think Labour and the Tories are tying themselves in knots on this, I'm still narked to see this up on the discussion board as "Lib Dem-Tory pact". A lot of people are going to glance quickly at the discussions of the day and are going to take that in as some sort of established fact. Am I the only one?

have put a quick thread up about it in Site Stuff so hopefully it'll get seen.

probably won't get seen at this time vesela, board moves fast now.

email HQ? Suggest:

Nick hang to right or left?

instead.

Fio - Labour have jigged with constituancy boundries, which has resulted in increased the numbers of seats that cover their traditional strongholds in northern urban regions. They have to win a far smaller percentage of the vote to have a majority in the Commons than either the Conservatives or Labour.

It is an absolutely travesty and needs addressing in the next Parliament regardless of who wins the majority.

I think a hung Parliament will be a disaster, and I really hope there is a clear Tory majority when we all wake up on May 7th.

Hi there
We've put some question marks in this to remove ambiguity.
HTH

Alibaba - seem to remember the Tories doing similar with boundaries - IIRC.

I also think Clegg's more recent posturing like a kid in a sweet shop "ooh we might go with you no you no I want the pink one no the one with the bell on no I want all of them...." is starting to be a turn-off. V arrogant and Toryish.

Thanks, Olivia! It's just that I know how many people look at Discussions of the day without having the time to go through to the thread.

Yes wasn't it the other way around in the 80s, the tories could get lots more seat with hardly any more votes? I have a vague memory of that.

I would be happy with most versions of PR, having moved around a lot I don't feel very linked to my current constituency, we're on the edge of 3 constituencies here (lab, lib and con at the moment) and the one we're voting in is one I have absolutely no relationship with at all, it has no impact on our lives. So bigger constituencies within a PR system and a less local MP would be fine by me.

monkeysavingexpertdotcom - he's not actually saying any of that, though.

alibaba, that's not true. It's the Boundary Commission that draw up constituencies. With the result that the boundaries change every few years to reflect changes in population -my constituency has just absorbed a few wards from the town that it split from in '97.

The issue is that Tory votes stack up in the constituencies where they do well - they get big majorities in Surrey seats, so the 10,000 majority/22,000 absolute votes only elect one Tory MP. Labour vote is spread more widely so 22,000 votes over two constituencies may elect two Labour MPs.

We all vote for our local MP so it's the arithmetic of the constituencies that turns into seats, not the national share of the vote. Although that may well change after this election.

Sounded to me like that's exactly what he was doing at the weekend and today.
He's too right-wing a Lib Dem for me.