Comments on: ConHome: ‘Tories ponder “generous outreach to Lib Dems”’ Love-bomb or genuine?

By: Martin Land

Martin Land — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:57:11 +0000

The simple fact is that the Tories will never sincerely work with anyone other than in their own narrow, sectarian interests. Anyone who has dealt with them in local government will tell you the value of any attempt to work with them. None whatsoever.

There are too many people in this party who simply don’t get it. We’ve been fighting these bastards since the 1620′s and I seem no reason to stop now.

By: Hywel

Hywel — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:08:40 +0000

The whole point of Cook/Maclennan – and the joint committee it led to was that it was about matters that were the policy of both parties.

I was a supporter up to that point – issues we agreed on and where cooperation was openly discussed then it seemed to make obvious sense.

By: Malcolm Redfellow

Malcolm Redfellow — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:00:33 +0000

Mark Wright @ 10:20 pm

[Smiles sweetly and coos gently]

… but so was PR, as far back as 1918. For which see HC Deb 13 May 1918 vol 106 cc63-117

So who dropped whoops-oh-nasty there?

By: Mark Wright

Mark Wright — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:20:05 +0000

I believe Scottish devolution and FoI (later gutted) were Labour policy long before “the relationship”.

By: Malcolm Redfellow

Malcolm Redfellow — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:09:21 +0000

Ahem: it takes two to tango.

I do not recall, when the new dawn broke in May 1997, that the LibDims were particularly welcoming of the New Labour embrace.

Am I the only one to have ploughed through those turgid Ashdown diaries?

To reduce over a thousand pages to an easy read: the break-points were PR, Scottish devolution; freedom of information; a € referendum.

50% of that was delivered. Better than the average bear! Without a LibDim coalition. And, in recollection, the LibDims didn’t vote consistently for that which they said they wanted. Irritating, huh?

“La donna è mobile
Qual piuma al vento,
Muta d’accento — e di pensiero.”

Now, tell me, would a € referendum have helped either party? Or would it have swollen the UKIP/irredentist Tory profile? Curiously enough, as one of the few around here who was campaigning (in Dublin) under PR back in the ’60s, I still believe in it: so where’s the whoosh of continuing support?

Both sides blew it in ’97. With malice aforethought. So, don’t now rewrite history. And, equally, don’t for a moment conceive of feather-bedding down with the Cameroonies.

By: Cheltenham Robin

Cheltenham Robin — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:25:34 +0000

“……the Tories continuing to row back from any support for ‘green taxes’.”

Green taxes aren’t liberal, in fact they could be described as illiberal.

By: Mark Wright

Mark Wright — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:59:21 +0000

This is clearly just a publicity stunt. The Tories are so utterly opposed to that kind of consensual working that they would not bother if they have a majority of even 1.