Blogs are meant to be streams of consciousness. This is what this one is!
How to feel this morning?
Delighted the Tories have not got a majority.
Delighted for Caroline Lucas and the Greens.
Delighted the BNP have not made anything near a breakthrough.
Sorry to lose David Drew as MP for Stroud — he’s been a good guy to work with.
Please that Austin Mitchell, Michael Meacher, Jon Cruddas, Kelvin Hopkins and many other parliamentary friends are back.
Glad the Labour party has not fallen apart.
Concerned about whether the opportunity to change Labour leader will arise.
Believing that we have a curious opportunity for stable government. Of course Clegg must offer Cameron a chance — but Cameron has no chance I can see of keeping the Lib Dems happy — even more so when they should have 150 seats, not 55.
Believing a stable two year plan for government can be built between Labour and the Lib Dems based on realistic economic policy, voting reform and a mutual fear they cannot afford another election. I can see the SNP, Plaid Cymru, the SDLP, Greens and independent unionists and NI Alliance Party buying that.
Thinking therefore that this might have been the result we needed — proof that electoral reform is now essential.
Maybe, just maybe, this may have been a very good result indeed.
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I just don’t see this working. A Lib/Lab with a substantial majority might have worked. Lib/Lab/Rag Tax & Bobbletail won’t. They will struggle on a daily basis to maintain a majority. The Tories will be running a successful guerilla campaign from the sides.
What I think is going to happen is the Tories will form the next administration. The liberals agree not to prevent this in exchange for no gerrymandering. In the meantime, Labour can ditch Brown and get the party on board for PR for the future.
The Tories will then be struggling to work the organs of govt without a majority. The LDs and Labour can then pick their moment to bring them down on a suitable issue of principle. By then the Tories will have made plenty of enemies and at least they will have dropped a few clangers.
Following the next election in, maybe 18 months, the Lds and Labour can bring in PR without a referendum because it will be in both their manifestoes.
Game over for the far right.