An agreement has been reached according to sky news.

[JustBlameSue]

Between Tories and Lib Dems. No real details as yet.

yes - I meant the same as anastaisia. sorry, am playing picnics

Speedy - HIGH FIVE

I have voted lib dem this time and every other time at a general election so far.

I think cameron is to the left of his party in some ways. When he became leader he brought in the blue tree logo to show he cared about the environment, and has talked about caring conservatism..my left leaning mum nearly switched to him but then read that he wanted to opt out of the EU bill of human rights and went back to the lib dems! I think on foreign policy he is traditional gung ho tory. He has tried to modernise the tories with his A list candidates..although that backfired in some places when they didn't get in. Apparently Michael Ashcroft is cross that he gave DC all that money to win seats and then DC didn't do what Ashcroft wanted in the campaign.

I think the thing that has worried me most about this election is the way the tories can buy seats with their huge funding and the way the press are so biaised it affects voting patterns. If the press hadn't slagged the lib dems off for 3 weeks solid maybe they would have got more votes and been in a stronger position.

But you were right to vote tactically!!

If you hadn't, we'd have that smug git Cameron in power already, with the majority to do whatever he wants!

OK, the current situation is a bit shitty, but not as shitty as the alternative...

Anastasia and vesela - okay I see. What I meant was that just because the tories got more seats, doesn't mean that they should automatically side with lib and form a govt. Welcome to the world of PR!

I'm sure that if one based the right to rule on seats alone and applied statistical methods to determine who had really won the right to rule, the difference between lab and con seats would be 'statistically insignificant' (or perhaps the Tories would just about scrape through), so that in truth either could probably claim rightful ownership. But my biased preference is to keep the bloody Tories well away from every aspect of running my country.

vesela - yes, re lib/ lab/ unwritten rule; though historically they have both always been on the progressive side. The emergence of New Labour brought them closer to LibDem, so it is arguable that there is a closer political affiliation (and that if only Gordy weren't in charge of Labour at the mo we might already have a govt...depending on the PR issue, of course).

Do I sound convincing? I think I'm beginning to fall into the politico's trap of talking utter bollocks. Nobody listen to me anymore.

Expat - you have my deepest sympathies. Oh, and thanks for the congrats!

I can't understand why people are suprised by this - NC has said all along he would look at forming a pact / coalition with the party with the most votes, which was likely all along to be the Tories. So this is surely exactly what we were expecting? I'm told that this is what the civil service have been preparing for for the last few weeks (and are anticipating that the Lib Dems get the nice, fluffy departments)

The BBC has done a nice common ground webpage, comparing Lib Dems against others:

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8669043.stm

I'd also agree with the recent article in The Economist that said that Labour are going to fall apart for a bit whatever happens, and that they'd better do it out of office.

If you wanted a more lefty gov, then vote for PR - if the Lib Dems got seats in proportion to the no of people that voted for them, they would have got 150 seats, rather than a meagre 57. A deal with Labour would have been worth doing, and would have had a chance of succeding.
Also, those 57 seats represent 6.8 million people who's views arent being properly recognised.

As it is, its really good they are having talks. If it wasnt for the Lib Dems it would be a totalitarian conservative gov. - you know what happened last time.

The Lib Dems are great, they have really good principles and policies, and their overriding principle is fairness - essential in a diverse country like ours. I think they are intelligent and experienced (more than the Cons) and will inject a lot of sense. So I still have hope, fingers crossed.

oh shit.

Speedy - I think New Labour are pretty different from the Lib Dems (as are Old Labour too, of course) mostly in that the Lib Dems believe business needs to operate on a level playing field, in an anti-monopoly environment, with no businesses privileged over others, whereas Labour took businesses under the wing of the state to provide public services in an environment where there was no proper competition and thus the companies in question charged overly-high prices for those services. And the result is yet another powerful bloc of vested interests.

That's just one part of the Labour (Old and New) authoritarianism- it's all part of the same pattern and attitude.

Oh well you should all be happy.

GB has announced he'll resign and LDs are opening formal talks with Labour.

Frakked - the Pound Sterling collapsed along with the Gilt market the minute GB announced he intended to resign but stay on in the interim until the Autumn conference and was talking to the Lib Dems about a possible coalition.

Phew - I thougth Clegg had dealt with the Tories - but he hasn't sunk that low.....yet!

BeenBeta - I'm not happy!!!!

It was a slightly sarcastic comment about those who are so vehemently opposed to a Lib/Con coalition.

vesela - so I WAS right - I was talking utter bollocks! You sound so much more knowledgeable and have clearly given more thought to what you're writing. Having read your post I recognise exactly what you've said in the past 13 years of Labour policy. So I shall defer to your greater wisdom.

Frakkedup - I am quietly optimistic (because there's now a chance the Tories won't get in) but generally pessimistic (because this is politics after all: there's no point in being cheerily optimistic).

I do still wonder whether NC is playing one off on the other, though. What am I saying? Of course he is!

Frakked up - oh my gods! (recognise that TV quote? )

I think the whole thing stinks and I will never look at the LibDems in the same way. "I'll talk to your gang, but not to you, so ner. Meanwhile I'll talk to this gang, so you'd better get out of your gang quick ..." I hope they get rid of Clegg pretty soon (and I used to like him).

British Politics hits a new low.

Jux - new low?? Gawd, didn't think that was possible post Iraq invasion.

Expat, believe me if we'd had an SNP candidate here in London I would have voted for them - would be only too pleased to see Scotland fully independent.

Interesting timing from gordon brown. trying to scupper a lib dem / tory deal?

If lab and lib dem form an aggreement I will NEVER vote lib dem again

So my dream outcome- a Lib/Tory deal including voting reform (I know, but it's a DREAM). Cuts have to be made anyway, and the Tories, bless them, would at least enjoy it. One bright little beacon of human happiness to offset the sea of misery they'd be inflicting. Then we could have a proper reformed election in which we can truly vote for who we want instead of guessing how to keep out the one we don't want, and the Thatcherites would never again see the light of day.

William Hague says that their final offer to LDs is a promise of a referendum on AV voting system, Labour already had that in their manifesto.

I have been involved with the LDs since I was a child, if they cave in on this I will never vote for them again

This would never have happened if we had Charlie still at the helm.

Frakked - yes I know you are not happy - neither am I.

Agreeing with you and just adding a comment about how the market reacted. I was watching the currency chart in real time on my screen and it was like watching a lift going down a building.

Currency markets do not normally move that far in 30 seconds. Scary.

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