*** Aspettando Cameron ***

[Florian]

Losers

di Simone Bressan

Freedom Land, May 11th, 2010


E’ abbastanza evidente quel che sta per succedere oltremanica. Il secondo e il terzo partito – entrambi sconfitti nell’urna – cercheranno un accordo per governare ad ogni costo. I laburisti di Gordon Brown sono stati sfiduciati dopo 13 anni di governo, mentre i LibDem di Nick Clegg si sono dimostrati buoni per qualche serata davanti alla tv e poco altro. Nonostante questo formeranno un governo. O almeno ci proveranno.

La mossa di David Cameron di offrire ai LibDem una piattaforma ampia su cui ragionare rimane comunque la migliore per uscire dal paradosso di questa elezione senza vincitori veri. Così facendo i Conservatori almeno rivendicano il proprio diritto a governare. E chissà cosa penserà David Cameron, costretto ad acrobazie mai viste, dopo aver preso più voti dell’ultimo Tony Blair. Quello che penseranno gli elettori inglesi di questo matrimonio tra perdenti è invece evidente: just a coalition of losers.


Freedomland, il blog di Simone Bressan

[Florian]

Labour split over prospect of 'obscene' Lib-Lab coalition

May 11, 2010


Jack Straw is said to be 'incensed' by the prospect of a Lib-Lab deal

Labour opposition to a deal with the Liberal Democrats was growing today even as party negotiators faced demands for more concessions from Nick Clegg.

David Blunkett, the former Home Secretary, gave public voice to concerns about whether Labour could trust the Lib Dems in a coalition deal, claiming that they were behaving like "every harlot in history."

John Reid, another former Home Secretary, warned that voters would punish Labour if it tried to "cobble something together that was not in the national interest".

But The Times has learnt that behind the scenes there is wider Cabinet disquiet at the turn of events.

Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, who has always been opposed to agreements with the Liberals, is said by colleagues to be "incensed" about the moves. One colleague even questioned whether Mr Straw would stay in the Cabinet in such circumstances.

A senior Cabinet source said that Mr Straw was not alone in his reservations. "We had to fight hard to get the AV referendum promise through the PLP. We could never go beyond that. If the Libs are asking us for PR, they won't get it. We can't deliver."

A ministerial source added: "This is obscene. We have to accept that we did not win the election. We lost it. Let's get real."

Another ministerial source told The Times: "It strikes me this is all about giving Gordon another six months in the job."

Another warning was fired by Jon Cruddas, the backbench champion who stayed out of the national campaign during the election to concentrate on his fight against the BNP in his Dagenham seat.

Mr Cruddas, who could yet be a contender in the leadership contest set off by Gordon Brown's resignation, said that Labour MPs, unions and the party’s ruling National Executive Committee must be consulted on any coalition deal.

"To ensure any agreement is stable and strong, the involvement of the Labour Party should be subject to the full agreement of the Labour Party," Mr Cruddas said.

"The parliamentary party, the NEC and the affiliated trade unions should be formally consulted on the terms of any talks undertaken by the Prime Minister and Cabinet."

Mr Blunkett warned that a "coalition of the defeated" would spell electoral disaster for Labour. "If we continue not listening to then we will lose very badly at any subsequent general election," he said.

"That would be even worse than a situation where we have a minority government in which we check what they do, whilst acting responsibly in the interests of the nation."

It appeared that Labour's negotiators led by Lord Mandelson had taken note of Labour concerns by their attitude at this morning's sessions of negotiations. Sources suggested that the Labour team had been more "hostile" than expected and had been reluctant to build on the offer already made of a referendum on the AV voting system.

Mr Blunkett's comments came shortly before Lib Dem and Labour negotiators met for a second round of power-sharing talks after Mr Brown's decision to go for broke and try to form a "progressive" coalition to keep David Cameron out of Downing Street.

Barely an hour after the Prime Minister set a timetable for his own departure yesterday evening the Tories upped their offer to the Lib Dems to include a referendum on the introduction of the Alternative Vote system.

Leaving home this morning, Mr Cameron said that he had made a "very full, very open, very reasonable offer" that put aside narrow party interests.

"It’s now, I believe, decision time — decision time for the Liberal Democrats — and I hope they make the right decision to give this country the strong, stable government that it badly needs and it badly needs quickly," he said.

The Labour negotiating team is led by Lord Mandelson and also includes the former Lib Dem Lord Adonis, deputy leader Harriet Harman and Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, who has long been part of Mr Brown's inner circle and is likely to be in the running to succeed him.

Mr Balls said this morning that the talks had started well last night but there were still differences between the two parties. "We need to take the time to get it right and I am very clear my job is to be there with the whole negotiating team to make sure we protect our manifesto," he said.

At a Cabinet meeting last night — the first since last Thursday's election, it was agreed that putative leaders would not throw their hats into the ring and start their campaign until the coalition talks have been resolved.

The Foreign Secretary David Miliband, the odds-on favourite to succeed Mr Brown, scrupulously declined to comment on the leadership contest today, but gave the game away when he told reporters that "you won't be hearing from any of the other candidates either".

The senior Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes said that he hoped a deal could be struck today, while other party sources described the current 24 hours as "crunch time".

But Mr Hughes also indicated that the Lib Dems were holding out for further concessions from Labour as the price for a centre-left coalition.

"Labour need to think further and go further before there will be any prospect of any arrangement with them," he told Sky News.

"I think we know what the Conservatives’ offer is, they’ve made that public, they’ve made public what they are saying about a referendum on a form of change to the voting system.

"They’ve moved positively and constructively on other things, including fair taxation. We are waiting really to see whether Labour are willing to make progressive suggestions."

Labour opponents of a deal with the Lib Dems are concerned that it could be held to ransom by smaller parties, notably the nationalists, and independents.

The former Lib Dem leader Lord Ashdown, who warned last week against a ragtag coalition, said he still held that view.

"But a minority Lib-Lab coalition, I think, can provide stability because, although there is a technical majority against it, I can see no political circumstances in which that can be assembled," he said.

The Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, one of the Tory negotiators, said that a deal between the Liberal Democrats and the Tories was the only way to provide stability for the country.

He added: "The alternative is unstable and would lack legitimacy and wouldn’t have really a majority because it would have to rely every night on nationalist party votes in the House of Commons."


Labour split over prospect of 'obscene' Lib-Lab coalition - Times Online

[FrancoAntonio]

a che punto siamo?: mi pare di capire che Brown propone di rimanere fino a settembre promettendo a Clegg di cambiare la legge elettorale

[Florian]

- Lib-Con deal said to be close, but Clegg must push it through "triple-lock" mechanism

- Labour to offer change of voting system without referendum in last-ditch attempt to win over Lib Dems



Election '10

[Florian]

1.25pm Tory right urge Cameron to backtrack

The right wing of the Conservative party wants David Cameron to renege on his offer to the Lib Dems of a referendum on the alternative vote (AV) system.

"This is the biggest danger to a deal today," says Sam Coates, our chief political correspondent.


Election '10

[Florian]

La destra tory sembra ormai non interessarsi più tanto di far andare Cameron a Downing Street quanto di scongiurare l'ipotesi di un referendum sulla riforma elettorale.

Intanto i laburisti sembra abbiano fatto ai libdem un'offerta ancora migliore di quella di Cameron sulla riforma elettorale. E non si preoccupano nemmeno di imbarcare in una coalizione lib-lab i nazionalisti scozzesi.

Tutto questo mentre la maggioranza dell'opinione pubblica e dei media (tranne BBC, Guardian e Independent) guarda disgustata a questo disperato tentativo dei laburisti di restare ancorati al potere.

L'avevamo detto: Brown-Clegg come Prodi-Rutelli. La sinistra non si smentisce mai, ormai gioca solo per far perdere l'avversario.

[Florian]

Che penoso spettacolo sta offrendo al mondo la Gran Bretagna.

[Florian]

I laburisti sembra siano disposti ad offrire la luna a Clegg pur di non fare andare i conservatori al potere.

[Florian]

1.50pm Talking at two

Libs and Cons to start talking again at the Cabinet Office at two. Seems talks with Labour this morning didn't go brilliantly.


Election '10

[Florian]

Il labour è spaccato sull'eventualità di una coalizione lib-lab:

1430 The first Labour minister has openly expressed the feeling that a Lab-Lib coalition is not viable. Schools Minister Diana Johnson told BBC Radio Humberside: "What I think, at the moment, is that the numbers for a Liberal-Labour coalition government just don't stack up. We've got 258 seats, and I don't think with the Lib Dems and a variety of other people in parliament, that we could form a stable government."

1426 Labour MP and former minister Michael Meacher says his party should go into opposition and "renew itself". "My view is that it would be better to accept that a Lib-Lab coalition, in which we need other smaller parties, is going to be unstable. It's going to be weak and given the economic situation it's going to be unpopular. And, facing an election in six to nine months time, I think it will be very difficult to win."

1420 Labour MPs opposed to proportional representation are meeting this afternoon to discuss their strategy - it's not looking good for a Labour-LibDem deal, says the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg.Read Laura Kuenssberg's tweets

1417 Ellie Gellard, the Labour blogger who opened the party's manifesto launch, does not want a "rainbow coalition". She tweets: The Labour Party will form a solid opposition and come back, at the next general election (soon, I hope), stronger. I fear a pact may make us weaker.Read Ellie Gellard's tweets

BBC News - Election 2010 - Live coverage - General Election 2010