David Cameron has made a “big, open and comprehensive offer” to the Liberal Democrats. It included the possibility of all party committee of inquiry on Electoral Reform. Will it be enough for the Lib Dems?
Lib Dem Voice say “Cameron offers … er, not very much really”:
“Cameron looked to be offering only one new proposal: a cross-party commission on electoral and political reform.
“That of course was Blair’s offer in 1997 which subsequently turned to dust.”
Nothing yet from Lib Dem Voice (which seems to have fallen over) but Meanwhile, a range of other Lib Dems have set out their opinion:
• Lib Dem councillor and prominent tweeter, Sara Bedford says: “The LibDems are looking for a meaningful relationship, not a one night stand. Looks like we might be remaining single, then?”
• Blogger Mark Thompson replies to a question on his views: “Sounds like change from FPTP is being ruled out if I am reading this right. Not near a TV though. Just basing on tweets.”
• Lib Dem Alex Wilcock: “Cameron promises “committee of enquiry” on electoral reform. That’s what Heath said in 1974. We told him to sod off, too.”
• Alix Mortimer says, “Uh-oh. Long grass on PR.”
• Another Lib Dem, Matt (@Kopmatt88) says, “Completely against. Electoral reform is a must for any lib dem support.”
At Next Left, the Fabian Society’s Tim Horton (not a Lib Dem incidentally) says:
“For many progressive voters who voted Lib Dem on the grounds that they believed them to be a progressive party, a Lib-Tory coalition would be an outrage. (It certainly makes a mockery of the rather sanctimonious commentaries we have had in the liberal broadsheets, casting the Lib Dems as somehow more progressive than the Labour Party.) For many voters who believed Nick Clegg when he toured the country claiming to be the party of fairness, falling in with the Tories would be a betrayal.
“The real point to make in advance of any coalition talks is this: the Lib Dems should not entertain the idea that they can be part of a de facto coalition-by-abstention with the Conservatives whilst avoiding political fallout from the resulting Conservative actions. If they are tempted down this route, I suspect the Labour Party, together with many progressives up and down the country, would work very hard to ensure the Lib Dems paid a heavy political price for such behaviour amongst voters on the centre-left.”
UPDATE 15.35:
@JoChristieSmith: “Cameron come much further than expected; could be a trap but lets see how the negotiations go before dismissing the idea of them”
@SamJordison: “”No, no, no.” Better to make a deal with an adder’s fangs. He offered nothing real.”
@mrrmooseface: “No way dude! Hope Nick Clegg won’t betray us all – we need proportional representation”
@alexwilcock: “And after 13 years of Labour lying about it we’d be mad to trust them either!”
55 Responses to “Will the Lib Dems accept Cameron’s offer?”
Will the Lib Dems accept Cameron’s offer? « The best Labour blogs
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Confused of Croydon
My own instinct is that Labour MPs who support the existing system would vote for a referendum on (proper) PR if it was the price for keeping the Tories out and provided they could campaign against change when the poll actually took place. If the Bill were lost, or not brought forward, the Liberals could simply withdraw from the agreement and bring down the Government.
But the maths is still very tight because of the lack of an overall majority for Labour and the Lib Dems. They could probably rely on 5 Northern Irish MPs (SDLP, Alliance and Lady Herman), and the Green member would have an overwhelming interest in seeing PR through.
The Nationalists could probably be brought (or rather bought) in too, and that provides a theoretical majority. But is that really enough to sustain a Government in the economic conditions we face? Someone would probably bolt at the first whiff of trouble and that would be that for the Government.
So Clegg’s choice seems to me to be between a gamble on getting the ultimate Lib Dem goal from a coalition with Labour, or considering what other Liberal goals- for example on tax- might be met in a coalition with the Tories, knowing that they would be more likely to be delivered as the coalition would have a working majority.
Whatever happens, people are right to dismiss Cameron’s offer of an “all party conference” on PR as worthless. As Ming Campbell pointed out, Labour set one of those up in 1997 under Jenkins and simply shelved the report.
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"Will the Lib Dems accept Cameron's offer?" and related posts: Left Foot ForwardDavid Cameron has made a “big, ope… http://bit.ly/9ko4yl
Mr. Sensible
My own hunch is that we’ll have another election in fairly short order.
Hung Parliaments do not tend to stay around long.
Modicum
In my view a referendum on PR would likely be lost. This would leave the Liberals with nothing. So they need to think seriously about democratic reforms that can be achieved without a referendum.
They should demand PR-STV for local government in England and Wales (it is already used in Scotland and Northern Ireland).
The also need to think about House of Lords reform, which could be a major way to weaken the two-party system in Westminster. If the new Senate is 100% directly elected by PR, and if there is no diminution in its current powers, then the upper house would become a democratic force to be reckoned with.
The progressive majority in the country could then use its permanent majority in the upper house to press for electoral reform in the Commons.