Lib Dems consider power-sharing deal

Nick Clegg has won the “clear endorsement” of his parliamentary colleagues to seek a power-sharing deal with the Conservatives as the Lib Dem leader gave his first indications that a deal with David Cameron would not depend on a referendum on voting reform.

The Tories have been forced to approach the Lib Dems about the possibility of an alliance after the general election left them short of an overall majority in the House of Commons.

Mr Clegg met his MPs on Saturday afternoon to discuss the offer as more than 1,000 protesters gathered outside to demand that he does not compromise over proportional representation, a long-cherished goal for the Lib Dems.

After the meeting, David Laws, a senior Lib Dem at the forefront of the Tory talks, declined to answer questions about electoral reform but said party MPs believed the “need for a stable and good government came ahead of all other issues” as the country grapples with a £163bn deficit. He said “the parliamentary party and the shadow [Lib Dem] cabinet have given a very, very clear endorsement” of Mr Clegg’s negotiations with the Tory leader.

Mr Cameron has made similar claims about “national interest” taking precedence over party politics during a period of great financial instability, though many Tory MPs and grass-roots supporters are unhappy about getting into bed with the Lib Dems.

Speaking on Saturday, Mr Clegg said he remained committed to “fundamental reform of the political system”, but declined to make any promises about seeking a referendum on electoral reform. Before the election he said such a measure would be a “pre-condition” of talks though his position has been weakened by the Lib Dems’ poor showing in the polls.

Gordon Brown, the defeated Labour leader, has offered a rival deal to the Lib Dems in the hope that the two parties would form a “progressive alliance”, shutting the Conservatives out of office. He has promised an immediate referendum on voting reform, though Mr Clegg believes the Tories have the “first rights” to form a government as the party with the most seats.

Mr Brown’s inner circle is increasingly convinced that the Lib Dems and Tories have struck an outline deal and sources say Mr Brown could be leaving Number 10 shortly after a deal is announced. The BBC said a telephone call between Mr Brown and Mr Clegg on Friday night was “heated”, though this has been denied by both parties. Mr Brown returned home to Scotland on Saturday as the Tory-Lib Dem talks progressed.

Mr Cameron had wanted his team to try to put together the outline of an agreement before the markets open on Monday, though Tory sources said this would probably not happen. Senior Tory and Lib Dem negotiators meet again at the Cabinet Office on Sunday morning though Mr Laws said they would not be held to “artificial timescales”.

Tory MPs are due to meet their leader on Monday evening. Grass-roots activists are implacably opposed to voting reform, fearing that proportional representation would remove their party from power for a generation. Many are angry that Mr Cameron failed to deliver a clear majority.

Michael Portillo, a former Tory minister, said it was “very possible” that the Conservatives could form a coalition with the Lib Dems, though he thought Mr Cameron would put electoral reform on the back burner while insisting on focusing on the deficit.

Mr Clegg said talks with the Tories would also depend on commitments over fairer taxation, education reforms and a new approach to the economy – areas where agreement is more likely.

Many in the Lib Dem rank and file feel Mr Cameron’s promise of an all-party committee to look into voting reform is well short of their minimum requirements. Simon Hughes, the Lib Dem energy spokesman, warned: “There has to be a comprehensive reform, there has to be significant movement.”

Complex Lib Dem rules mean Mr Clegg cannot do a deal without the support of three quarters of both his parliamentary party and federal executive, unless he calls a special conference. Mr Clegg was planning to meet the executive later on Saturday afternoon.

http://forum.thelordoftrading.com/fellow-traders-blog-updates-f10/uk-general-election-results-2010-t787.htm#1734

Clegg is talking wtih cameron as i write this and brown is on hold in case that falls through, worse to worse another election in a year.

Brown will step down in September when The Labour party can find a new leader. How do Clegg and Cameron structure a power sharing agreement? Can that work?

Yes it can work, politics, negotiation, you scratch my back i scratch yours, i dunno the logistics, maybe saruos is more familiar since he is in the region, might want to ask him instead. but so far there latest talk produced no results... if brown were smart he would take advantage of that, but however easier said than done given that brown has been helping himself at all throughout the election.

Gordon Brown offered to step down as Labour’s leader on Monday evening as the Liberal Democrats opened formal talks with the party about forming a coalition government.

The shock development came on an extraordinary day of political wrangling, as Lib Dem MPs offered a lukewarm response to their leader’s initial plans for a power-sharing deal with David Cameron’s Conservatives. Sterling fell against the dollar and UK gilt futures extended heavy losses after Mr Brown said the Liberal Democrats would hold formal talks with his Labour party as well as the Conservatives to form a workable government.The pound fell to $1.4870 from $1.4920. Before the news the June gilt future was down 70 ticks on the day at 116.15, and it fell to as low as 115.62, down around 130 ticks on the day, shortly afterwards in heavy post-settlement trading.

After his comprehensive defeat in last week’s general election, Mr Brown said he had ”no reason to stay in power longer than is needed”, a guarantee that is believed to be a prerequisite for any deal with the Lib Dems. ”Mr Clegg has just informed me that he now wishes to take forward formal discussions with the Labour party,” the prime minister said. He said the process to select a new Labour leader would start immediately.

There were immediate questions about whether the Lib Dem approach was a negotiating tactic to win more concessions from the Tories. The comments came after Mr Cameron suffered a setback in his own efforts to secure the keys to Number 10 after Liberal Democrat MPs questioned his commitment to voting reform in exchange for them supporting a Conservative government.

The Tory leader has been locked in talks with Mr Clegg after failing to win an outright House of Commons majority in last week’s general election. However, at a meeting of Lib Dem MPs in Westminster on Monday Mr Clegg was told to go back to the Tories to seek ”clarification on a number of points”, including the potential deal-breaker of voting reform. One MP who emerged from the meeting said Mr Clegg’s proposals had received a ”mixed response”.

Some MPs said the offer from the Tories had its merits and included plans for a reform of the political system. However, they said it only included a tentative mention of voting reform and there was nothing specific about Lib Dem demands for the so-called ”alternative vote” system. The Lib Dem MPs also told their leadership that they should continue to hold conversations with Gordon Brown, the Labour leader, who has offered a rival deal that includes a promise of an immediate referendum on proportional representation and a full coalition government.

Mr Clegg had said Mr Cameron should have ”first rights” to form a government as head of the biggest party and both men agree that a Con-Lib alliance offers the best chance for a stable government as the country grapples with a £163bn deficit. Lib Dems are, however, eager that their leader does not abandon his commitment to reform of the voting system. At the same time, traditional Tory supporters remain implacably opposed to proportional representation, arguing that it could consign the party to the political wilderness. Mr Cameron had wanted to put forward a concrete proposal to his own MPs at a meeting scheduled for this evening.

Lib Dem negotiators have been seeking a referendum on a version of electoral reform – the alternative vote – from their Tory counterparts as a sign of Mr Cameron’s intention to carry out more far reaching reforms after time. They also want the introduction of fixed terms parliaments, which would prevent Mr Cameron from pulling the plug on a Con-Lib partnership by calling a snap election.

Some Conservative MPs said on Monday that they were being sounded out about their support for the alternative vote referendum. A Conservative offer of the alternative vote system would alarm some Tory traditionalists, but it would maintain the principle of the single member constituency: it is not a proportional system, but would help the Lib Dems win more seats in most circumstances. It emerged that the Lib Dem negotiating team met in secret over the weekend with a team from Labour consisting of Peter Mandelson, Ed Miliband, Ed Balls and Andrew Adonis, according to the BBC.[left]