Bollitics: The General Election 2010 Exit Poll

[Jon]

Lembik Ombit seems to be omni present

Yup.

I guess he's at a bit of a loose end now. :winkold:

To be fair to the geezer he was class on "Have I got news for jouw" the other day.

yep.

Loved the harmonica bit.

[PauloBarnesi]

Lembik Ombit seems to be omni present

Yup.

I guess he's at a bit of a loose end now. :winkold:

To be fair to the geezer he was class on "Have I got news for jouw" the other day.

yep.

Loved the harmonica bit.

I suspect it will be diminishing returns, can’t quite see him having the TV career of Portillo.

[markavfc40]

It is looking more and more likely that it will be a Con/Lib coaliton. As much as I deplore what the Tories stand for I think this is the best decision as currently its the only chance of a stable government even if I suspect it won't last more than 12 -18 months. It is totally unrealistic that a Lab/Lib/various others coalition could be considered a viable alternative and would have a detrimental medium term effect on Labour.

If/when it does all go tits up at least the electorate will be in a better position to make an informed judgement on who should run the country as the Tories will have shown their hand/what they are all about.

[mjmooney]

It is looking more and more likely that it will be a Con/Lib coaliton. As much as I deplore what the Tories stand for I think this is the best decision as currently its the only chance of a stable government even if I suspect it won't last more than 12 -18 months. It is totally unrealistic that a Lab/Lib/various others coalition could be considered a viable alternative and would have a detrimental medium term effect on Labour.

If/when it does all go tits up at least the electorate will be in a better position to make an informed judgement on who should run the country as the Tories will have shown their hand/what they are all about.

We seem to be reaching a consensus on VT, anyway.

[mjmooney]

1501: Conservative activist and blogger Iain Dale tells the BBC he understands that Nick Clegg and Vince Cable are "completely signed up to doing a deal with the Conservatives". He claims it is party veterans Lord Ashdown and Sir Menzies Campbell that are "holding them back".

[kidlewis]

1501: Conservative activist and blogger Iain Dale tells the BBC he understands that Nick Clegg and Vince Cable are "completely signed up to doing a deal with the Conservatives". He claims it is party veterans Lord Ashdown and Sir Menzies Campbell that are "holding them back".

they were the future once.

[mjmooney]

I've lost a lot of respect for Clegg over this.

The natural alliance for the Lib Dems is with Labour. But it should be in opposition, not some half-assed attempt to form a government. It seems he's so desperate for a cabinet post he'd rather whore himself to the Tories.

If he has the best interests of the country at heart he should let Cameron lead a minority government and oppose where necessary.

[avfc89]

Yes I also agree with a Lib-Con coalition, I believe it will give us a stable Government which we need for the time being.

[TheDon]

Yes I also agree with a Lib-Con coalition, I believe it will give us a stable Government which we need for the time being.

A stable government consisting of two parties with policies pretty far removed from each other?

How does that work out?

[Amsterdam_Neil_D]

It is looking more and more likely that it will be a Con/Lib coaliton. As much as I deplore what the Tories stand for I think this is the best decision as currently its the only chance of a stable government even if I suspect it won't last more than 12 -18 months. It is totally unrealistic that a Lab/Lib/various others coalition could be considered a viable alternative and would have a detrimental medium term effect on Labour.

If/when it does all go tits up at least the electorate will be in a better position to make an informed judgement on who should run the country as the Tories will have shown their hand/what they are all about.

We seem to be reaching a consensus on VT, anyway.

I agree with the above also after having a little think.

[avfc89]

Yes I also agree with a Lib-Con coalition, I believe it will give us a stable Government which we need for the time being.

A stable government consisting of two parties with policies pretty far removed from each other?

How does that work out?

We need something in place, anything.

[PauloBarnesi]

The natural alliance for the Lib Dems is with Labour.

I am not entirely sure thats true. Parts of the Liberal party might be closer to parts of the Conservative Party, and parts of the Liberals closer to Labour. The reality as we know is that all of the parties represent a huge spectrum; Tony Blair for example is closer to Ken Clarke than he is to Dennis Skinner. So I suspect that Clegg on many levels was closer in personality to Cameron than he was to Brown and going down the MPs there would be a mix.

If you look at some of the strongholds of the Lib Dems; South West, Borders; here the power has shifted between Liberals and Conservatives, suggesting that a section of voters have shifted between the two. Now some of them will be tactical; but in others its because I doubt they could countenance voting for Labour. In other places its between Labour and Lib Dems and people wouldn’t countenance voting for the Conservatives.

Over this election I ve been struck by how divided politics have become, and how much poorer the country is for it. Not every Tory is good, but not every one of them is the devil incarnate. The same for Labour and the Lib Dems. In the end we need as many people on board to get us through what I think are going to be some tough years

[mjmooney]

The natural alliance for the Lib Dems is with Labour.

I am not entirely sure thats true. Parts of the Liberal party might be closer to parts of the Conservative Party, and parts of the Liberals closer to Labour. The reality as we know is that all of the parties represent a huge spectrum; Tony Blair for example is closer to Ken Clarke than he is to Dennis Skinner. So I suspect that Clegg on many levels was closer in personality to Cameron than he was to Brown and going down the MPs there would be a mix.

If you look at some of the strongholds of the Lib Dems; South West, Borders; here the power has shifted between Liberals and Conservatives, suggesting that a section of voters have shifted between the two. Now some of them will be tactical; but in others its because I doubt they could countenance voting for Labour. In other places its between Labour and Lib Dems and people wouldn’t countenance voting for the Conservatives.

Over this election I ve been struck by how divided politics have become, and how much poorer the country is for it. Not every Tory is good, but not every one of them is the devil incarnate. The same for Labour and the Lib Dems. In the end we need as many people on board to get us through what I think are going to be some tough years

Oh, I agree on all points. My comment that it was a "natural" alliance was perhaps overstating it, but I just get the feeling that while the Lib Dem rank-and-file may be suspicious of Labour, they positively hate the Tories. And there is at least a history of Lib Lab pacts.

If we must have party politics I'd like to see the existing parties revamped, with the left-leaning Liberals joining Labour as a new Social Progressive Party and the right wingers of both Libs and Labour joining the Conservatives. Then we'd know what they stood for, and first-past-the-post might work, one way or the other.

[Richard]

I feel a deal will be announced which give Clegg Home Secretary and Cable the job of sorting out the banking / financial regulations in some sort of cabinet finance role.

We will have a referendum on AV with both parties free to campaign as they want.

We will also see the Tories policy on tax brought into line a bit more with the Lib Dem manifesto proposals and away we go

[Risso]

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than the Tories pulling off a deal with the Libs, and watching the dejected faces of Labour supporters.

[kidlewis]

I feel a deal will be announced which give Clegg Home Secretary and Cable the job of sorting out the banking / financial regulations in some sort of cabinet finance role.

We will have a referendum on AV with both parties free to campaign as they want.

We will also see the Tories policy on tax brought into line a bit more with the Lib Dem manifesto proposals and away we go

i'd be quite happy with that. I think in principle (if it is financially possible) I would like to see the threshold raised to £10k.

I wonder whether the new alliance will publish a list of their "merged" manifesto pledges.

[PauloBarnesi]

The natural alliance for the Lib Dems is with Labour.

I am not entirely sure thats true. Parts of the Liberal party might be closer to parts of the Conservative Party, and parts of the Liberals closer to Labour. The reality as we know is that all of the parties represent a huge spectrum; Tony Blair for example is closer to Ken Clarke than he is to Dennis Skinner. So I suspect that Clegg on many levels was closer in personality to Cameron than he was to Brown and going down the MPs there would be a mix.

If you look at some of the strongholds of the Lib Dems; South West, Borders; here the power has shifted between Liberals and Conservatives, suggesting that a section of voters have shifted between the two. Now some of them will be tactical; but in others its because I doubt they could countenance voting for Labour. In other places its between Labour and Lib Dems and people wouldn’t countenance voting for the Conservatives.

Over this election I ve been struck by how divided politics have become, and how much poorer the country is for it. Not every Tory is good, but not every one of them is the devil incarnate. The same for Labour and the Lib Dems. In the end we need as many people on board to get us through what I think are going to be some tough years

Oh, I agree on all points. My comment that it was a "natural" alliance was perhaps overstating it, but I just get the feeling that while the Lib Dem rank-and-file may be suspicious of Labour, they positively hate the Tories. And there is at least a history of Lib Lab pacts.

If we must have party politics I'd like to see the existing parties revamped, with the left-leaning Liberals joining Labour as a new Social Progressive Party and the right wingers of both Libs and Labour joining the Conservatives. Then we'd know what they stood for, and first-past-the-post might work, one way or the other.

I am not sure making the Tories more right wing and Labour more Left wing is the answer. For some people it would be helpful, but I get the feeling it would make the whole thing weaker; a bit like breaking the Union or the North leaving the South of England. It might seem sensible but ultimately polarise things.

[mjmooney]

BREAKING NEWS: Number 10 recognises that talks with the Lib Dems have not and will reach not any positive conclusion, and they are now discussing the method of declaring that their side of the negotiation is over, BBC Radio 5 Live's political correspondent Jon Pienaar says.

1551: As he left a meeting with new Tory MPs at the Commons this afternoon, David Cameron was asked if he was confident of a deal. "I'm just in the dark, like all of you," he said.

1602: The BBC's Jon Pienaar says talks between the Lib Dems and the Tories are now at the final "dotting the Is and crossing the Ts" stage. To use the metaphor of poker, Labour have folded and thrown in their cards.

[Grant(aka_eddy)]

For context I voted Lib Dem and would have gone for Labour next, though i have no political allegiance and like/dislike elements of each parties policies.

But at this stage as long as a referendum on political reform is part of the deal then i think we have to go for Lib-Con coalition as they will have a clear majority and represnt the largest achievable majority that the electorate voted for.

I think the process we are going through now is very valuable, even if it is frustrating. I just hope we end up with the best of both from those two parties.

[avfc89]

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than the Tories pulling off a deal with the Libs, and watching the dejected faces of Labour supporters.

I'm a Labour supporter, it doesn't bother me who's in now. I think the dejection will be on your face when the coalition breaks down because they have differing views and ideas. Labour will rebuild during this period of time.