The Pursuit of Government

At lunchtime we wondered if David Cameron would be Prime Minister by tea time. At 5 o’clock Gordon Brown announced the beginning of formal talks between the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats. The sudden change of fortunes seemed shocking, yet it is hard to believe that we haven’t got more of these surprises to come.

Most of the key players in the present intrigue are lawyers and they are choosing their words carefully. Gordon Brown is ‘prepared’ to resign if a deal is struck with the Lib. Dems. Nick Clegg has stuck to his firm belief that the party with the most seats should be allowed to seek to form a government before any other party tries.

‘Seeking to form a government’ seems like the ‘pursuit of happiness’: you skip quickly to the interesting word at the end and forget that all that is being offered is a journey.

It could well be that today’s decision by the Liberal Democrats is a bargaining tool to whip the Conservatives into shape. They know that the Lib. Dems have defined themselves as a party battling for Proportional Representation. The Conservatives will have to give ground on this issue if they want a coalition.

It may well be that the Conservatives have no room to manoeuvre. It is also likely that the Lib. Dems are not such natural bed-fellows with Labour, especially once all the national parties get involved. Labour MPs from Scotland don’t spend sleepless nights worrying about losing their seats to Tories – it’s the SNP and the Lib. Dems who provide the opposition.

As close as a ‘Rainbow Alliance’ may seem this evening, we could well have a minority Conservative government by the end of the week. That would end talk of Proportional Representation for some time. If the Lib. Dems can’t form a coalition with two very desperate party leaders, it will be hard to convince voters that a coalition government will ever work.