Has Michael Gove just come out for a general election pact with the Liberal Democrats?

by Paul Goodman

This is what he said, in the Commons debate taking place this afternoon on Educational Maintenance Allowances -

"In Hull, Liberal Democrat-controlled Hull, any student in receipt of Education Maintenance Allowance also gets a travel grant to cope with the full cost.

"Well they won't if a Labour council takes power, I suspect. But if they're wise enough to vote Liberal Democrat at the next local elections in Hull, or for the Conservatives in any seat where we are well-placed to defeat Labour, then they will have a council that is fulfilling its statutory duty.

"And it's no surprise that there are Liberal Democrat and Conservative councils that are ensuring that all students receive the support that they deserve."

Now, local elections are one thing, and the next general election another.  But even so, I can't recall a senior Conservative urging voters to back another Party in similar circumstances.  Perhaps I'll be corrected.

And it's not as though blue candidates don't run in Hull.  Here's a link to some of the results as recently as last May.  What will local Tories have to say?

The Education Secretary has been reported as being "undecided" about whether or not to support replacing first-past-the-post with AV.  The BBC's report says that he "smiled and winked" after this comments today.