Saturday, January 03, 2009

Lib Dems split as secret coalition talks take place?

If you read just one piece of commentary today then it should be the one titled "Ditch Speaker Martin, make Vince Cable Chancellor and freeze out the Tories... is this Brown's masterplan for 2009?" by Peter Oborne in the Mail.

I will say this, it has an air of possibility about it, although I am a little sceptical about whether a tribalist like Brown would really go for such a high profile coalition. Of course, if the Tories were merely the largest single party in Parliament but had no overall majority he might.

The interesting thing that Oborne points out though is that there is a significant split developing in the Lib Dems. Vince Cable went "off-piste" apparently with an unauthorised arse-licking piece about Brown, and essentially the Orange Book right-wingers in the Lib Dems aren't particular happy about it.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

While I realise that Vince Cable isn't all he's made out to be by the press, is he really stupid enough to believe he'd have any power/autonomy as Chancellor to Brown's PM? If this did happen I think pretty much any Lib Dem who wanted to keep their seat at the next election would be heading to the Tories.

Barnacle Bill said...

Our glorious unelected Leader would do anything to hang onto power and spit in the faces of the Tories if we had a hung parliament.
Whilst once again the Lib/Dems will show themselves to be a party led by a spineless leader.

T England. Raised from the dead. said...

Isn’t this great!
We are slowly but surely seeing the darkened depth’s unelected Brown will stoop to?
In his desperation to cling to power he is prepared to side with a party that Labour have continually belittled, trashed & whose leaders they have enjoyed making fools of, oh well! If this is the best Brown can do as a back up plan then what needs to be said?

J said...

Dizzy, you need to remember that Brown is tribally anti-Tory first, tribally Labour second.

Of course he would go for it if he thinks there's no other way to stop Cameron becoming PM.

Anonymous said...

That Brown is even considering declaring a Mugabe-style "government of national unity" shows what contempt he has for democracy.
He has repeatedly shown himself to be neither liberal nor democratic, so if the have any sense the LibDems will have nothing to do with his megalomaniac scheming.

Shug Niggurath said...

T England (apt name btw)

In Scotland Labour never won a majority in the tin-pot Parliament in 1999. Labour did a deal and the Libs sold out to them. The Liberals have lost more votes in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK because of this.

The only reason the SNP are in charge in Scotland is they have one more seat than Labour just now, the Liberals having refused that coalition on the grounds that the SNP were the only party they would do a deal with as they had most seats and the Liberals are 100% against independence.

Watch them try to play kingmaker in the run up to the next election, they love it as they know full well it is the nearest they will ever get to power.

Anonymous said...

Labour did the same with Plaid Cymru at the last election.

Doktorb said...

I am not entirely sure how accurate this story is. Cable is FAR too clever than to be used to prop up a discredited Labour government. Menzies it too strong a voice to have muted on the Speakership chair.

................................. said...

Oborne is very well informed. He also has a great researcher...

Tactical Voter said...

Would Vince really want to work for "Mr Bean"?