No, no, no. If you declare that you will only be avilable to do a deal with one possible partner, you are not negotiating hard. You are being a patsy.

I hate the Tories the way others hate Labour, but I think Nick is quite right to ask them to make the first bid. Unless we genuinely negotiate hard – which means pushing both sides until we get an offer we can live with – we are wasting a big opportunity.

I’m an ex-Tory who came to the Lib Dems.

I could dig out a quotation of his insisting that what he did straight out of uni two decades ago was irrelevent to what he is now, but there’s no point… ewes know this is desperate stuff.

I don’t agree with that at all. Look at the opinion polls leading up to the election: The rise in our popularity at the time matched a drop in the Conservative’s, with only a small change in Labour percentages. This indicates that our increased poll popularity was gained by (transient) defecting Tory voters. I’m an ex-Tory who came to the Lib Dems. So the very last thing I want is the continued presence of a government who have pushed us into two wars, plus for the second time in my life have decimated the government books and left us with an outrageous national debt. They’ve had a balance sheet blind spot for 13 years and you still trust them to manage the economy?

Nick has indicated that his first priority is to focus on doing the right thing for the nation. That means negotiating hard, making brave choices, being open to compromise, and working with whoever is best placed to fix the problems we face today. Right now that is not the Labour party.

Snide, smug, know-it-all personal attacks? Nope, not coming down to your level.

Right onto precisely what you decry me for:

Get it yet?

Political Corruption: “Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents”

The system is without a doubt imperfect, but if you think for one moment that what has happened is, in any way, “repression” outwith the definitions in said undergraduate sociology and phliosophy course guides you have a stunning lack of imagination. There are much, much worse things… try harder.

Anyone who voted for the Liberal Democrats with their primary concern the redistribution of wealth, must have trouble reading manifestos all the way through.

You make that sound as if it were a bad thing. The unaffected defending the uneffable.

If he doesn’t offer it, well we stuck with our principle to let him make the first offer, now we should test the alternative.

This is a bidding war situation. We didn’t choose to have a powerful hand, but we got one. We should use it.

Over the next few months Cameron intends to make crazy cuts which will see him unpopular, when as the results show he isn’t THAT popular anyway. Because we’re guarenteed another election within a year should this happen he will crash and burn, eventhe Tories know this.
If Clegg gets into bed with Cameron you can say goodbye to Scottish/Welsh tactical votes, many English anti Brown protest votes and more importantly bye bye to PR.

When it comes to issues of real importance, such as the economy, surely they can all agree on what needs to be done.

I’m always amused and bemused by the idea that people only really disagree about unimportant things. Makes you wonder why we bother with voting in the first place.

A minority Tory government seems the only plausible option at this point, but what do we do when Chancellor Babyface presents his “emergency budget”? If it takes the form promised during the campaign, I can’t see how any of the other parties could vote for it. (Well, the nats and the Ulstermen will vote for anything if you throw them a bone; that would be enough to swing it, I guess.)

When it comes to issues of real importance, such as the economy, surely they can all agree on what needs to be done. If a minority or coalition government leads to disaster, it will only be because the juvenile squabbling idiots in parliament can’t agree.

The bottom line is that I don’t care if we end up ‘working’ (in whatever form that may be) with the Tories or Labour, provided we can work to tackle two main areas : 1) Sort out the financial mess in a sensitive but effective way;
2) Reform our political system to deliver fair votes. No wriggle room!!!

I support a minority Tory Government as voted in by people in both seats and %. With the Lib Dems voting on specific policies, allowing necessary and GOOD legislation to pass while blocking things that conflict with Lib Dem policies or aren’t in the best interest of the country. Brilliant way to show how a balanced parliament isn’t a huge mistake because parties CAN work together when they stop bickering.

And if it doesn’t work, the Tories will need to call another election.

Is that what they’re teaching in undergraduate philosophy classes these days?

Besides, there is corrupt and there is imperfect… get the difference?

ALEC

Snide, smug, know-it-all personal attacks? Nope, not coming down to your level.

Political Corruption: “Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents”

Get it yet?

Anyone who voted for the Liberal Democrats with their primary concern the redistribution of wealth, must have trouble reading manifestos all the way through.

Also I agree with some of you with that we have as many differences with the Labour party as we do with the Conservatives.

I’m sure that with the conservatives, things will be business as usual. The march towards further social control will probably continue, but at least the issue of civil liberties is on their agenda. Labour don’t even mention it.

The voice of “democracy”, horribly distorted as it is, has spoken. Let the party with the most votes rule. Just please God don’t let those fascists in Labour back into power.

Why is no one on the BBC pointing out that although the Tories have 39% of the vote, the Labour & Lib Dem together has 52% of the popular vote, together they have the mandate to govern

Sunny Hundal did, right before Clegg announced this.

He’s gone quiet since.

Wrong. A corrupt voting system affects every voter.

Is that what they’re teaching in undergraduate philosophy classes these days?

Besides, there is corrupt and there is imperfect… get the difference?

You’re spinning as fast as Harriet Harman.

There are factors – jobs, child credits, basic security – which concern far more people than a voting method.

ALEC

Wrong. A corrupt voting system affects every voter.