Anxious Conservatives thread!

[VicToryA]

As the lefties have one, we need one too.

I have everything crossed for them to win, by however small a margin, and red wine and arsenic ready in case they lose...

I daren't stay up as my nerves can't take it. I just desperately want to wake up to a Conservative government tomorrow morning.

Lefties, please don't intrude. I have deliberately started this thread so as not to pester you on your anxious thread. It feels mean and unnecessary to tell you why you are wrong on your own thread.

I think this was a good election to lose? Tories and NC get into bed together and have to do nasty cuts. Labour kicks back and gets shiny new leader. DC manage to kick PR into the long grass so his unhappy supporters + public sector workers return Labour back into office with majority on firts past the post....as Mervyn King said this was a good election to lose.

I was also thinking that the best tactic would be for dc to appear to be collaborative but not to work out a deal with libs. DH however made a good point. Lib/con coalition. we make the necessary but painful cuts. Electorate wail and scream about nasty tories eating babies. We calmly turn around and say....but we did it with the libs, a left wing liberal party. Accusations that we're rabid, nasty rightwingers who don't care about the poor won't hold water.

God, all this strategising

I agree with the markets, Lib/Con is best and most secure decision. Could not be happy with lib/lab immediately makes me think sluggish and lumbering.

well, I can see another twist or two so I am still short sterling, short Euro, long dollar.

here

am mildly amused at the ironye of the op's thread:

"as the lefties have one ... we need one too" no ideas or principles of your own, just a load of stuff that you need to lie to people about to get elected. the one thing we did know the tories did all agree on - first past the post - you'll have to comprimise on. not suprrised you are anxious!

As we are all Tories together here cold any of you live with the following proposal.

Equalise the size of constituencies (i.e same number of voters) to eliminate Labour natural majority, reduce the number of House of Commons MPs to 600, reduce House of Lords to 600 full time working Peers.

Then agree with Lib Dems that the House of Commons will remain FPTP and that House of Lords will be PR. The House of Commons proposes laws while Lords scrutinises them. The House of Commons to remain with the constituency MP ststem but working Peers appointed from a list put forward by each party in proportion to the total votes cast at the General election.

That would mean every vote cast at at a General election would be put to use in voting in peers but FPTP in the Commons would prevent perpetual hung parliaments.

As a Tory voter I could live with that and I think Cameron and Clegg could too. Hopefully one of them is reading MN.

BeenBeta I hope they are too - sounds good to me!

It would have the additional bonus of getting rid of Mandelson which would be brilliant.

Maybe Mandelson would be appointed as a working peer!

Clegg wouldn't live with the HoC remaining FPTP. What's the matter with multi-member constituencies under PR? They'd be bigger, but there would be more MPs for them (and more choice of MPs).

"Hopefully one of them is reading MN"

yes, obviously Clegg won't be on this thread, but Cameron is probably thinking 'at last, finally things have calmed down and I get a chance to check MN!' and clicking on 'Threads I'm on' as we speak. When he's finished looking at the advice he's been given on pregnancy and style & beauty he'll be right over

Here is a map of what multi-member constituencies might look like under proportional representation (STV).

seth

Beta. Very sensible and modest proposal. I like

vesela - of all the PR system STV is the one I like the least. It absolutely guarantees the centre party a big majority every time. That would be terrible for the country in the long run. We need plurality not a monopoly. Even a simple PR system with a 3 way split and a lot of fringe partie sis better tan that. It is after all more or less the actual result we more or less got form this election.

The accompanying paper to the map says it was the scheme proposed by the Lib Dems in the last parliament and there is no doubting it would be a dream for them but it should stay a dream.

I assume STV is what LibDems will be demanding Cameron or Brown gives them. It will never happen. I think they should compromise around a general reform of parliament and some element of PR. They are in no position to demand more and if some LibDems really want to paint themsleves as Labour in Orange clothes then so be it.

Yes, Lib Dems (and the rest) thought they'd be in a MUCH stronger position than they are now obviously.

BeenBeta - In recent times, the centrists have been the winners. Tis what DC recognises...Clinton, Blair.

Modern politics is about moderation with the accent being on what I call "managerialism". That is a Captialist economy with managed distribution/fairness. Being fair and good managers being more important than ideology.

The main argument outstanding is how to create and manage opportunity for the poor?

...and no one really has convincing answers on this yet.

TDiddy - I agree. We definitley need good management. In fact Cameron could carry on as a minority party leader but showing that he is a reasonable man and a good manager and hope that wins him votes at the next election.

From a Tory perspective: DC should step back and not get involved in concocted coalition especially given ensuing sovereign crisis....

IF no negotiated agreement can be reached now, to me it doesn't bode well for PR, which surely relies on negotiated agreement between parties.

I'm so fed up - I really thought all of the wondering and waiting would be over by now, and Sam and Dave would be moving this weekend!

There's still tomorrow.

yes ajandjjmum ; DC doesnt have momentum and would be best off keeping his powder dry. He risks getting consumed in a mess or even contributing to Tories being out of office for a long time if we get electoral reform

'The main argument outstanding is how to create and manage opportunity for the poor?'

Entirely agree, TDiddy.

Reviving this thread.

How anxious does today's news make us all then?

I thought Cameron was going to make a statement at 6pm this evening. The change in events must have blown that away.