A Lib/Lab Pact....and how do YOU feel about it.

[SmoothRB]

I think there will be another election within 12 months whatever.

[AndrewW-G]

Mazda Baiter said:

I think it would be the best thing for the country.

The two progressive partys can progressively fk the country over by not being able to get anything through the house. They will look like a shambles from the outside, and the fighting will start from within. The Conservatives can stand in opposition and gently poke fun at them whilst the "coalition" slowly implodes. Labour will come out of this looking like petty, power crazy tossers with no direction. The Lib Dems will be seen as political wes who can't get anything done. The Conservatives come out of the situation smelling of roses and will revise their policy slightly so that UKIP don't prevent them from gaining a majority.

An Election will be called and the Conservatives will gain a majority and they can get to work sorting the country out.

/\ This

One thing that a rainbow alliance would give to the conservatives, is the simple campaign line "vote Lib Dem and get a Labour government" something that could be used to great effect as for once in politics its possibly true!

[jezzaaa]

Mazda Baiter said:

I think it would be the best thing for the country.

The two progressive partys can progressively fk the country over by not being able to get anything through the house. They will look like a shambles from the outside, and the fighting will start from within. The Conservatives can stand in opposition and gently poke fun at them whilst the "coalition" slowly implodes. Labour will come out of this looking like petty, power crazy tossers with no direction. The Lib Dems will be seen as political wes who can't get anything done. The Conservatives come out of the situation smelling of roses and will revise their policy slightly so that UKIP don't prevent them from gaining a majority.

An Election will be called and the Conservatives will gain a majority and they can get to work sorting the country out.

While I see what you're saying, while they are in the coalition, the thought of the damage they will do to the pound/markets, all the green and European st that the Lib Dems are all about and with Labour's continued assault on personal liberty a etc terrifies me.

[Asterix]

jezzaaa said:

Mazda Baiter said:

I think it would be the best thing for the country.

The two progressive partys can progressively fk the country over by not being able to get anything through the house. They will look like a shambles from the outside, and the fighting will start from within. The Conservatives can stand in opposition and gently poke fun at them whilst the "coalition" slowly implodes. Labour will come out of this looking like petty, power crazy tossers with no direction. The Lib Dems will be seen as political wes who can't get anything done. The Conservatives come out of the situation smelling of roses and will revise their policy slightly so that UKIP don't prevent them from gaining a majority.

An Election will be called and the Conservatives will gain a majority and they can get to work sorting the country out.

While I see what you're saying, while they are in the coalition, the thought of the damage they will do to the pound/markets, all the green and European st that the Lib Dems are all about and with Labour's continued assault on personal liberty a etc terrifies me.

How bad can it get from now?

Anyway - let's hope the long term result is a large Tory majority.

[GreigM]

plasticpig said:

Personally I voted for the person who I thought would best represent me in parliament. Not for a party or the parties leader.

While theoretically you are correct, I would suggest that all MPs are somewhat automatons that perform what the party leadership tell them to do on the big issues - they may have some slight local issue/interest which they will hold up when trying to get re-elected, but they are there to serve the leaders of the party - the whip system ensures that, so you most definitely voting for a party and leader.

[Mikeyboy]

I am appaled that the Liberals woudl even consider joining forces with a party that has been universally shown to be unpopular with some safe seats seeing near 10% swings against them.
I just think its undemocratic and wrong.
If they had any ounce of dignity they would either drop the problems on electoral reform that they have with the conservatives and just get on witht eh job or tell Brown that the only good solution is another election as soon as is possible.

[plasticpig]

GreigM said:

plasticpig said:

Personally I voted for the person who I thought would best represent me in parliament. Not for a party or the parties leader.

While theoretically you are correct, I would suggest that all MPs are somewhat automatons that perform what the party leadership tell them to do on the big issues - they may have some slight local issue/interest which they will hold up when trying to get re-elected, but they are there to serve the leaders of the party - the whip system ensures that, so you most definitely voting for a party and leader.

Not if I voted for an independent candidate.

[unpc]

A government made up of all the losers plus some fringe parties that we could not vote on has no legitimacy in my eyes. I'm considering witholding paying tax (I work for myself) until we get a fairly elected government.

Edited for spelling

Edited by unpc on Tuesday 11th May 10:24

[The Black Flash]

AndrewW-G said:

So whilst people may not vote for a PM, the labour party have lied in their election material on two separate and sequential occasions as to who will lead their party following a general election.

You must have missed this when they reneged on the EU referendum then:

The Labour Party in a court of law said:

Manifesto pledges are not subject to legitimate expectation.

i.e., nobody really believes what they say in the manifesto, so they can say whatever they want and do something completely different.

Amazed that the Tories didn't make more of this.
Oh, no, I'm not.

[ATG]

Pantsdown was on the Today programme saying words to the effect of - "I'm not going to be held to this, but a Lib/Lab coalition (without SNP, et al) although technically a minority government, would be unlikely to be felled by SNP, PC etc, because the alternative would be the Tories". He then had the audacity to claim that Lib/Lab would be legitimate as it has the backing of 52% of the elctorate.

What an utter crock of st.

"Backing of 52%" ... contemptible little man. (a) how dare he assume that the 29% who voted Labour would support a pact with the Libs, or in particular that the 23% who voted LibDem would support a pact with Labour? (b) using his arithmetic, a Con/Lib pact would have 59% support, so which is the more democratically legitimate?

A pact between excludes the biggest parliamentary party from government and only produces a minority government? How do I feel? Pass me the bucket.

[Zod]

AndrewW-G said:

Mazda Baiter said:

I think it would be the best thing for the country.

The two progressive partys can progressively fk the country over by not being able to get anything through the house. They will look like a shambles from the outside, and the fighting will start from within. The Conservatives can stand in opposition and gently poke fun at them whilst the "coalition" slowly implodes. Labour will come out of this looking like petty, power crazy tossers with no direction. The Lib Dems will be seen as political wes who can't get anything done. The Conservatives come out of the situation smelling of roses and will revise their policy slightly so that UKIP don't prevent them from gaining a majority.

An Election will be called and the Conservatives will gain a majority and they can get to work sorting the country out.

/\ This

One thing that a rainbow alliance would give to the conservatives, is the simple campaign line "vote Lib Dem and get a Labour government" something that could be used to great effect as for once in politics its possibly true!

but don't you see? All of this was planned by Mandlest and he will also have plans to avoid a further election

[rs1952]

Mazda Baiter said:

I think it would be the best thing for the country.

Really? I think perhaps you are letting your personal gut feeling about who should go into coalition with who have precedence over the practicalities. A few facts:

Tories 36% of the vote, Labour 29%, Liberals 23%. On a straight "who got the most votes" question, the tories won. Tories got 306 seats (up 97), Labour got 258 (down 91) Liberals got 57 (down 5). On a straight "who got the most seats" question, the conservatives won. On a straight "who lost the most seats" question, Labour lost.

I fully understand that the Lib Dems have a major difficult decision to make, and many of them despise the tories so much that they would much more happily jump into bed with Labour. However, looking at the practicalities of the situation:

1. A Lib/Lab coalition would be weak, as it would need the support of the nutter parties. Of course Alex Salmond and Caroline Lucas want it - that way they get disproportionate power.

2. We all know, or ought to know, that tax rises and spending cuts will be coming in a couple of weeks. To get support for an Alistair Darling budget, the nationalists would want to see their countries spared the worst of them, The cuts would therefore mainly fall on England. England in isolation voted very strongly tory (297, 191 and 43 seats respectively). Expect to see a bit of civil unrest.

3. The unions will not be happy about the cuts, and there will be unrest. A weak Lib/ Lab coalition is more likely to cave in under pressure. If this happens, the international markets will see the UK going the same way as Greece and the IMF will be along in a minute. Expect a bit more civil unrest.

4. The whole thing will collapse this side of Christmas and there will be another election. The Lib Dems will be blamed for propping up an unpopular labour government and they will be back to the situation they were in during the 60s of holding their parliamentary meetings in a phone box.

Whilst the Lib Dems might prefer in their hearts to support Labour, the repercussions of them doing so will last for a generation.

Edited by rs1952 on Tuesday 11th May 10:51

[JMGS4]

Lib/Lab pact is treason! The country does NOT want Moron Brown and certainly not communist Minigland and his brother. Let the feckers try it, they'll last until the first vote and get smashed. We'll have a new election please and then we can get on with a real government, as soon as Labour and those yellows get annihalated!!
The Liberals always were untrustworthy, now they've proven it again and again and again!

[Fittster]

Perfectly relaxed about it. The public spending juggernaut is out of control and you can put which ever monkey(s) you like behind the wheel and you'll still crash.

Red/Yellow/Blue the crash will be just as fun to watch.

[MX7]

I think a Lib/Lab deal would damage the Libdems for years. The country clearly are sick of Brown, and to help him to hang on, even if it's only for a few months, will be remembered for a long time.

I can't see it happening.

[Don]

I think the Lib Dems will damage themselves badly and become less popular as they will be seen as denying the democratic will of the people.

At least, that's how I see them.

And there will most certainly be another election. I'm thinking in the Autumn.

[Don]

Fittster said:

Perfectly relaxed about it. The public spending juggernaut is out of control and you can put which ever monkey(s) you like behind the wheel and you'll still crash.

Red/Yellow/Blue the crash will be just as fun to watch.

The political crash will be hilarious.

The economic one will affect us all.

We haven't had the rioting yet, remember.

[gtdc]

So for Mandy's evil plan to work doesn't it mean that every MP from the Evil Alliance will actually have to turn up at the House of Commons to vote? Including the Scottish ones?

[Zod]

Yes. It's unworkable, but it keeps the Tories out of Downing Street for longer and that's all that matters to him.

[Globulator]

Don said:

We haven't had the rioting yet, remember.

I told you we were moving closer to europe