He writes:
Ming needs to come out now and state that, in the event of a hung Parliament, the Liberal Democrats will work with whichever party has the most MPs.The headline shows how this will be spun by those who do not wish us well:
A Lib/Con pact? You shouldn’ t rule it outLiberal England is always in favour of free debate, but I doubt if Ming's inner circle will find this intervention helpful on the eve of the party's Annual Conference.
2 comments:
Oaten is right to say that nothing should be ruled out, for two reaons.
1. Ruling options out leaves fewer options in and thus makes it easier for the oppo to make pre-emptive attacks.
2. The party that wins the most seats has a democratic mandate to make the first attempt to form a Government. If that happens to be the Tories, then they should be allowed first go at an administration. If they put forward a reactionary Queen's Speech then it should be voted down, but if not...
I'd prefer an approach, where Ming would state that, in the event of a hung Parliament, the Liberal Democrats will work with whichever party will include most Lib Dem targets, including the PR, into the Queen's Speech. That way Lib Dems could convince the voters that by voting Lib Dems they can make a difference, and not just get a henchman for which ever of the two big parties happens to get more seats.
What's the point to vote for Lib Dems anyway, if they will automatically support the largest party in the event of a hung Parliament, without making any conditions? In that case it's better to vote directly for Labour or Tories in order to prevent a hung parliament.
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