WWYD if you were Nick Clegg?

[FrakkinTheReturningOfficer]

Seeing as Cleggy is likely to be the chap practically deciding the outcome of this, WWYD in his position?

I would probably align with Labour on the condition we had a referendum on election reform and push to dissolve Parliament for a new election as soon as that passed....

anastasia - I have a feeling that what you said about a sort of vote-by-vote Lib-Con alliance is very likely to happen. In effet a minority Con Govt supported in parts by Lib Dem.

My feeling is that neither DC or GB really wants to give away a true reform of the votng system so the Lib Dems may well end up having to help the Cons vote through their parts of the Con manifesto that they like (e.g gettng rid of ID cards) in return for Con support on the parts of the Lib Dem manifesto that Cons can live with.

It may even prove to be quite a productive period of Govt - bt ultimately doomed to failure.

The tories will never do PR as advocated by the LIb DEms never never never!!!!!!!!!!

Labour has less to lose from PR than Tories.

I thought he couldn't do a deal without 75% support of all Lb Dem MPs? And even after that, 75% support of the all major supporters of the Party.

I think he would like to do a deal, but will be stymied by the rest of his party.

Conservatives to run a minority government.

I agree sofa followed by huge public discontent at the raft of unpopular economic reform to tackle the debt then another election and Milliband as PM

yes, quite SofaQueen- the party has all sorts of mechanisms to stop a vain leader so I can't see him getting it done. He is playing the statesman game but it will not have the legs to run

SofaQueen, 3/4 of Lib Dem MPs (and the Federal Executive) will vote for it if it includes a commitment to electoral reform. The LDs are more united than people think.

Listening to Simon Huges and reading between the lines and with the centre of gravity of the party being on the left, I think that they will be united AGAINST LibCon deal

this is why Lib Dem spokespeople on TV yesterday were all putting out the same sort of message.

I'd like a minority Tory govt. because then they get the flack for taking shitty decisions about the deficit and get turfed out when the next general election comes along in the near future.

Funny how it's ordinary people who are going to suffer from pay cuts, joblessness and the destruction of public services when it was the fat cats who brought the economy crashing to its knees. The rich should at least share the pain.

True NC can't do anything without 3/4 support plus the exec BUT he can split the party down the middle by saying he wants to go one way and them not wanting it resulting in a whole bunch of infighting and nothing getting done....

He's talked a lot about the national interest and what's best for that party is not necessarily best for the nation right now.

They would do well to have this sorted by Sunday evening or the markets are going to punish the UK. Good news for the Monday opening would do a lot for economic confidence, the Greece sitation nonwithstanding.

DC also has to ensure that he doesnt take his party too far so either NC or DC will lose at the end of any ConLib deal!!!

Simon Hughes just said we needed to ensure a PR deal was more than talk (i.e. inquiry not enough).

The parliamentary party doesn't have a centre of gravity that's particularly close to Labour or that privileges Labour in any way. As far as I know, the Federal Executive likewise.

The biggest issue in all today's talks is likely to be the PR one.

Run away screaming from the Tories.

It would be great if NC were to back labour and some of the changes he promised went ahead for the good of the country, including the referendum on the electoral system. If then we were to go back to the polls under the new system, he could have even more support. It seems that he did badly, he came third, but, when you look at the gap in actual votes between the three parties he doesnt look as far behind the others as he does when counting seats.

Given that that far more people voted for the Tories than they did Labour, I'd do the decent thing and side with them. It's a no-brainer.

And PR might have changed the way people vote...

But even if we were to have electoral reform there is absolutely no surety that it would be PR. Even if we did get PR no-one knows exactly what form that would take (minimum % of the vote to exclude horrible minorities like the BNP, but then you lock out the Greens....?). Would we have a change to an STV voting system? How would we cope under PR where coalitions are basically a fact of life?

Apart from anything else, a Lab/Lib/sundry Nats agreement would be pretty unstable.

Also, Labour have past form in wriggling out of agreements on PR. Why should we trust them more this time?

most people voted against the Tories. So they have no more right to form a government than anyone else. (Same applies to all the other parties, of course.)

No-one has a moral right to form a government ? this is about pragmatism.

simon hughes was clear: very interesting.

Edam - equally, no party has the right to assume it has the support of another.

I agree Vesella- Apparently the last time there were discussions about reform of the voting system, one of the main reasons it came to nothing was because Brown refused to consider it. Funny how now he's changed his mind. It was in the Labour 1997 manifesto. I think the economy is a more pressing issue and I'd rather have Vince Cable involved somewhere than leave it to George Osborne! The Lib Dems have the chance to have a bigger say than they have had in years and prove to the electorate what they can do. If they prop up a defeated government, they will go down with them

The Lib Dems are busy briefing against Labour....

"Liberal Democrat sources have told the BBC's Jon Soppel that Gordon Brown delivered a diatribe laced with threats when he spoke to Nick Clegg last night by phone. It was in sharp contrast to the respectful and constructive talk between David Cameron and Mr Clegg, they added."

How can Clee align with Brown, he was'nt elected and still hasn't been. The Tories hold the majority seats, as he himself says he will first ask (as he has done) to align with the party which is the biggest, not labour which has had the worst election defeat since 1931.

Rather disgusting spectacle of Labour saying their should be electoral reform - after 13 years in power.