@jmo Said
No. Every Lib Dem supporter I know despises the Tories. It doesn't matter how many concessions Nick Clegg gets Lib Dems could not work with the Tories, it would disillusion most Lib Dem supporters and I can't imagine the Tories ever going for P.R. which I'm guessing is fairly essential for a Lib Dem coalition.
Maybe you aren't typical of Lib Dem supporters but there is no way most will accept that.
JMO...... You live in Edinburgh, which is a long way from the South West of England. I don't think you have any real idea of what LibDems in the South West, which is the spiritual heartland of Liberal Democratic politics think. You're a Scottish Labour supporter and you think like one, and that's fair enough, but you shouldn't try to dictate to people what they believe when you're a long way from the action..... When you don't even have any affinity with or understanding of the people you attempt to dictate to.
Yes I agree with you that Liberal Democrats would PREFER to work with Labour if that were a better option. As a Centre Left party, the basic ideology is closer to Labour than Conservative. But the point I am trying to make is that this situation isn't about political doctrine. At this precise moment in time, it's about political expediency.
It's about the Liberal Democratic Party trying to get into a position to have a real say in how British politics runs for the next five years.
With all but one of the results in, for the Liberals to ally with Labour would still leave them short of an overall majority and require them to deal also with the nationalists and the Green. That would surely cause fragmentation and could never work. Too many factions attempting to promote their own agendas. It would be a complete and utter mess.
Also...... You have no idea just how much Gordon Brown is despised in England. I can tell you that in the south of England, he is a joke and the only reason Labour gets so many votes in the north of England is because of old working class loyalties and hatred of the Conservatives caused by memories of Margaret Thatcher.
In the north of England, you could pin a red rosette on a tub of lard and they would vote for it. They'd put a cross next to the Labour candidate whilst having nothing but scorn and contempt for the man they were voting to put into Number Ten. It runs that deep.
So, to have this man.... who was not elected to the Office of Prime Minister in the first place, who has conspicuously LOST the election, and is viewed by most of England as a failure and a joke figure, running the country from 10 Downing Street would cause massive incredulity.... not to mention justifiable resentment amongst the millions of voters who make up the overwhelming majority that DIDN'T vote for him.
So, let's get back to the point of the current situation:
Nick Clegg's potential alliance with the Conservatives is all about POLITICS. Clegg doesn't want to be associated with the kind of seething anger and resentment that Brown will generate if he stays, because to do so would make the Liberal Democrats even more unelectable in the future. What he wants is to actually have the chance to genuinely influence the way the country is governed in the next Parliament.
It's a gamble, but one he may feel is worth it. If he can just get into government..... even as a bit player.... and show what he and the LibDems are capable of, it would wipe away the "inexperienced" tag and give them something tangible they can put in front of the British people in five years time.
To run the best campaign out of all the parties, and then find yourself finishing with fewer seats than you started with is such a gut wrenching rejection that it is impossible to see how the Liberal Democrats could EVER achieve government in the future.... unless....
Imagine the Liberal Democrats being able to go to the people in 2015 and say "This is what we achieved,
as part of the government" . Imagine what effect that could have in the minds of voters who, up to now, simply cannot see the Liberal Democrats as realistic government material.
This could be the foot in the door the Liberal Democrats need. It could completely change the perception of the LibDems in the minds of millions of voters in the future.
The situation is very fluid at the moment, and Nick Clegg may have to lower his demands, but the important thing, for him, is to have a chip in the big game. To get a real.... serious... tangible seat at the table and to show what the Liberal Democrats can really do, if given the chance.
I am no lover of the Conservatives, JMO, but I am looking at the wider picture, as I believe Nick Clegg is. In politics, sometimes, you have to do things that may be distasteful to you in order to achieve a greater goal in the long term.
Politics is the art of achieving the possible. Right now, it may be possible for the Liberal Democratic Party to get a position in Government. They'd be fools not to take it.
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