Clegg ready to back minority Tory government from day one

"In consultations with senior members of the party, he said he was prepared to take the necessary steps that would enable the Tories to form a minority administration.

Mr Clegg ruled out taking a Cabinet seat in a Conservative government in return for his support and instead would provide Mr Cameron with "supply and confidence" – meaning he would promise to back a Conservative Budget and would side with the Tories in any votes of confidence.

As a result, Mr Cameron would be free to accept the post of Prime Minister from the Queen on the day after the next general election, even if he failed to win an outright majority."

Read more in The Telegraph.

Comments

[Vince]

Offering to moderate the Tories in power is probably Clegg's best way of keeping Tory-LD marginals.

[Paul Oakley]

Er, it ain't going to be a minority government so you won't need to trouble yourself Mr Clegg.

[Praguetory]

This is an important moment. It's an acknowledgment from Nick that anti-Labour tactical voters will be a richer seam than anti-Tory tactical voters. This is a tangible measure of our party's progress. Well done all.

[Richard]

Will he demand PR in return?

[ChrisD]

Very interesting to see this move by the Libdems, and so soon after Alex Salmond offered his support to a Conservative government on an issue by issue basis similar to the arrangement with the Scottish MSP's at Holyrood....It would seem that the Labour brand is now toxic to other parties as well!

Well done to Annabel Goldie and her colleagues for deciding at the outset not to get into coalition haggling, instead sticking to their own manifesto while promising to work issue by issue with a minority SNP administration. She received a lot of criticism at the time, but this policy has proved successful, not least because David Cameron has now had offers from two parties expressing support for the Conservatives should they form a minority administration. Still hoping that the support will not be needed though!

But it also looks like both the SNP and the Libdems are concerned that *certain* seats in Scotland might be very vulnerable to a large swing to the Conservatives in a GE where there is a real momentum to kick out the present incumbents. Worth looking at some of the seats the Conservatives lost to the SNP, Labour and the Libdems in 92/97. There was some very large swings to the SNP in certain areas in the Scottish Elections, and I know that many Conservative leaning voters tactically voted for the SNP, simple to get rid of the Labour administration at Holyrood. I expect some very surprising results for all four parties in Scotland at the next GE.

[Nizhinsky]

Finally! Clegg is most definitely on the right of his party, and though that still makes him somewhat to the left of Dave's Tories, he's still much more in line with the historic Liberal tradition that we're quite familiar with. The two parties arguably have a lot more in common on their good sides than either would like to admit, so can we call this a toast vanquishing socialism? Once and for all?

[Neil Reddin]

Lib Dems? Who are they?

[Tony Makara]

"Labour brand is now toxic"

ChrisD, you've hit the nail on the head. Labour is now even toxic to its own supporters. The main bulk of my relatives are traditional Labour supporters and they are completely disgusted with this sleaze-ridden lying government. Not a single one is going to vote Labour again until the current crop are all gone. It comes to something when Labour voters prefer being in opposition to being run by the likes of Brown, Darling, Blears etc. I wonder what would happen if honourable MPs broke away and formed an 'Traditional Labour' bloc and stood against New Labourites at the next election?

[James, Swadlincote]

"I wonder what would happen if honourable MPs broke away and formed an 'Traditional Labour' bloc and stood against New Labourites at the next election?"

They were called the Social Democratic Party.

Didn't end well.

[TimFell]

A MINORITY administration! With poll ratings putting us 20 points ahead! ..thanks but I really don't think we'll need you Cleggy!

Is this just the FibDems desperate to stop their vote crumbling away at the next election as voters realise the only way to get rid of Brown is to vote Conservative?

[Treacle]

Why throw a lifeline to these losers by taking up their offer?

Govern as a minority, if we get defeated we go to the Country and get a better mandate.

Callaghan was ruined by being tainted with the Liberal coalition.

Love bomb their supporters? Fine. But the Lib Dem party? Shoot it for the mangy dog it is while we have the chance....

[Joe James Broughton]

We should aim for outright victory - and recent trends show we can do it, and defeat a big tranche of Lib Dem MPs who are in the way of the changes the country needs to be offered.

The Lib Dems are a deeply unpleasant and dishonest party who would blackmail the country with great damage to our constitution.
They need to be crushed, not accommodated.

[Goldie]

I think the polls produce an unwarranted optimism. Lots of people won't vote Labour correct. Undoubtedly Labour turn-out, in particular in their heart lands, will be down. but that doesn't mean the Tories will pick up those seats.

[Oberon Houston]

Yes, this isn't surprising. The Lib Dems have realised after the local elections - which were, lets be clear, a disaster for them. Tactical voting with Labour is dead in the water for them. The only way out from a disaster at the next General Election is to try to broker a deal with the Conservatives. Paddy Ashdown did the same with Blair before 1997. Blair went along with this as an insurance policy, but dumped him after the landslide. That was the end of Paddy.

Problem Clegg has got is a certain Chris Huhne, he is off the left of the party and has attacked Clegg's right leanings regularly, and is a nasty piece all right. Get ready for more shenanigans over at the Pointless Party.

[comstock]

This could be good news for Labour (gawd knows they need some)

Hopefully Labour voters will return to the fold rather than vote LD (we already saw some evidence of this in the recent London elections)

[James Lees]

But would he also be prepared to back a Labour one if the fancy took him? We should point out to those in Lib Dem marginals that voting for Clegg could get Gordon off the hook.

[Patsy Sergeant]

I think that this action of Clegg's is an acknowledgement that across the country, the Conservative Party is being seen as a party represented by young ORDINARY people - not 'toffs' as this lying government tries to insist, and not even, necessarily the traditional 'middle class' (what ever that is, apart from the deliberately lying image put out by Labour!).

So despite the best/worst tactics of labour activists, every time a charabanc turns up somewhere filled with nice ordinary people, who are friendly and 'everyday' looking, it is going to emphasise that the Conservative Party HAS changed. It has changed in its outlook, its policies (yes it has some)(that haven't been pinched yet) and its appeal, because as the polls are showing the Conservative Party is the party for today AND tomorrow. Enough!

[David Parker]

After Clegg's spineless and unprincipled repudiation of the Lib-Dem's manifesto promise of a referendum over the Lisbon Con/Treaty, Cameron should be very wary of any sort of deal with him.

This would send the message to the, predominately eurosceptic, would be Tory voters, that Cameron, like Hague, is really more europhile than eurosceptic.

If Cameron were to become the leader of a minority government, propped up by Clegg, his policies would be strongly opposed on principle by the majority of Lib-Dem MPs, many of whom are considerably to the left of NuLab, threatening Clegg's own position.

[Roger Evans]

Hard to believe this when only last week the Lib Dems on the London assembly ganged up with the Greens to put a Labour 'chair' in post. Between them they have managed to grab control of all the committees, despite the voter's rejection of the three parties in the London elections.

Saying one thing and doing another - typical Lib Dems.

[Ian]

Nice to see the LibDems continuing at their normal level of principled opposition!

So, what they are saying is that a vote for us is a vote against Labour rather than a vote against the Tories. Actually, as ever, a vote for them is a vote against common sense!

[Alan Carcas]

Could there be any better sign that they expect David Cameron to win the next General Election than Alex Salmond and Nick Clegg offering their "support." Nothing like getting on a bandwagon whilst there is still room, and when you're not in danger of falling off!

Isn't that what they call pragmatism?

[Joe James Broughton]

This was a pretty bad set of local elections for the Lib Dems.
They are in deep trouble in Con/Lib Dem areas where most of their MPs are, and they won't be able to take Labour seats (eg in Hull/Sheffield) which tend to be safe no what happens nationally.
If the General Election turns out to be fairly close, the LDs could be crushed - as happened in London.
They are not to be trusted.

[Yet Another Anon]

All this is is a re-statement of the position of the Liberal Democrats that if there were to be a Hung Parliament that they would look to support in government whichever of the two main parties appeared most able to form a government.

Support for confidence motions and budgets still means that whichever it was would be constantly scrabbling around for a majority on every vote. It would mean that a lot of the programme of whichever party formed a government would have to be scrapped early on.

The SNP and DUP no doubt will expect big concessions regarding the powers of devolved government.

It isn't a full coalition proposal, for which no doubt the condition would be joint policy formulation and a referendum on PR, as well as Liberal Democrats at all level of government.

[Andrew Morrison]

Alex Salmond only wants to offer his support to the Conservatives because he knows a Conservative government in London will swing more Labour votes his way, and will boost favour for Scottish independence.

As for Nick Clegg, he is only going for broke. They have nothing to lose. Recent opinion polls have put the Liberals on 14%/15% - lower than what they achieved with Charles Kennedy. Let's not kid ourselves - the Tories have more in common with Blairite Labour MPs than Liberals, who are to the Left of Labour.

Finally, a commentator earlier praised Annabel Goldie (Scottish Tory leader) for not entering into a formal coalition with the SNP. He is right to do so, and I would advise the Tories in London to treat the LDs the same way. They would ask for PR, and there is no way the Conservatives should give them it.

[Yet Another Anon]

Alex Salmond only wants to offer his support to the Conservatives because he knows a Conservative government in London will swing more Labour votes his way, and will boost favour for Scottish independence.
I doubt it would somehow as it would be well known that the SNP was backing the government, it is more likely to swing Conservative votes his way who might vote tactically to keep Labour out.

[Bexie]

They really are an opportunistic lot. Mind you it was a temporary accomodation between the Liberals and the Conservatives that got the vote of no confidence through in '79. We can hope that, seeing ongoing deterioration in the polls under Stalin, the labour back benchers who might keep their seats at 25% popularity vote against the government in a no confidence vote, just to get rid of the man before they hit the magic 16%.

[comstock]

Bexie, if you think you are gonna win a confidence motion you are sadly mistaken....you will have to wait your turn

[Yet Another Anon]

Mind you it was a temporary accomodation between the Liberals and the Conservatives that got the vote of no confidence through in '79.
What really swung it was an Independent Republican Socialist turning up in person, Labour Whips assumed he was going to vote with the government, but he had only turned up to make a principled abstention - not that it made a lot of difference, the General Election had to be by October of that year, as it was Jim Callaghan could have held it slightly later on, but decided to hold it in May - I doubt it would have made much difference to the final result and all it did was end the Labour government a few months earlier than otherwise would have been the case.

[Yet Another Anon]

the labour back benchers who might keep their seats at 25% popularity vote against the government in a no confidence vote
Government's in difficulty normally do much better in General Election campaigns than the polls at the beginning suggest - if there was a General Election called for the Summer, people would be bemused at why it was so early, but the probable outcome would be a Hung Parliament, indeed I don't believe that Labour would have won a majority last October if there had been a General Election - the polls exagerrated things then and they are now as well.

As anger at the 10p fiasco subsides and as the deficit starts to fall and a lot of the controversial bills of this parliament are out of the way and as people gear up for a General Election and start examining the opposition parties responses in more detail Labour support will tend to go up, governments under Attlee, Churchill, Eden, Macmillan, Hulme, Wilson, Callaghan, Thatcher, Major and indeed even in the past few parliaments have faced crises of support and bad results in EU/Local elections/Parliamentary by-elections and then tended to recover support towards the end.

[Yet Another Anon]

Problem Clegg has got is a certain Chris Huhne, he is off the left of the party
Both seem equally vacuos with all the charisma of a cardboard cutout.

[Philip]

Mr Clegg wants a veto over policy in return (over the Queens speech, I think) - i.e. a party with the minority of votes dictating policy. We must reject this out of hand, and aim for overwhelming victory

[Fred Baker]

We will have the Morning Star coming over next.

[Chris Wyremski]

How reassuring to know that Tories can count on the support of such an anti-British anti-family, pro-crime party.

What a wonderful indictment of the modern Conservative party. When will Britain rid herself of this intolerant tyranny of liberalism?

Probably never.

[Yet Another Anon]

How reassuring to know that Tories can count on the support of such an anti-British anti-family, pro-crime party.
All Nick Clegg said was that if the Conservatives were the largest grouping in the House of Commons that he would back them in confidence motions and at the budget conditional on the Liberal Democrats being allowed to have a say in what appeared in the Queens Speech and legislation in the first year - hardly a ringing endorsement, his position with regard to Labour is no doubt the same.