Reply to: It was the Sun what won it (oops maybe not)

[TinTrump]

There's no way Brown would agree to that.

He won't be in a position to. Given the discontent within the Parliamentary Labour Party with him, anything less than an outright victory will result in him being replaced. So in this scenario, he's gone.

[centurian]

Somebody has to form a government, even if it's a minority one.

Not always. If a stable government cannot be formed - a new election will be called.

An unworkable coalition acheives nothing, and the economy is too big a deal in any election, let alone this one, for any PM to hand it over to somebody in a different party over whom he doesn't have full control. It just wouldn't work, it could only be a stunt to even suggest it, and Nick Clegg seems more reasonable than that.

Likewise this is the one and only chance that the LD's will have to wield any power. Do you think they're going to be content with Environment and Prison's secretary, or a few other noncy jobs.

No, Nick will hold out for one of the top jobs, especially if the polls are right and the LD's get the same share of the vote as Labour (or more). In fact he probably won't stop with Cable as chanceller - he'll probably demand 50% representation in the cabinet and cite the popular vote share as the electoral mandate for it.

[VectraMan]

But it's better than being Leader of the Opposition - shortly followed by being a backbench opposition MP.

Essentially that's the carrot that Nick Clegg will dangle in front of GB/DC and the first one to take it becomes Prime Minister. Now if they both turn round and say "get stuffed" and both hold their nerve, then Nick Clegg will have to scale back his demands.

But each will be afraid that the other is about to take up Nick on his offer and become PM.

Basically Game Theory for the country's top job.

Somebody has to form a government, even if it's a minority one. An unworkable coalition acheives nothing, and the economy is too big a deal in any election, let alone this one, for any PM to hand it over to somebody in a different party over whom he doesn't have full control. It just wouldn't work, it could only be a stunt to even suggest it, and Nick Clegg seems more reasonable than that.

[Boudica]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2...endence-party#

i like this

[centurian]

There's no way Brown would agree to that. That gives them way too much power, not to mention that it would be completely unworkable given their different policies.

But it's better than being Leader of the Opposition - shortly followed by being a backbench opposition MP.

Essentially that's the carrot that Nick Clegg will dangle in front of GB/DC and the first one to take it becomes Prime Minister. Now if they both turn round and say "get stuffed" and both hold their nerve, then Nick Clegg will have to scale back his demands.

But each will be afraid that the other is about to take up Nick on his offer and become PM.

Basically Game Theory for the country's top job.

[VectraMan]

Cable will almost certainly be chancellor in exchange for the LD's support. That will be Clegg's price

There's no way Brown would agree to that. That gives them way too much power, not to mention that it would be completely unworkable given their different policies.

[centurian]

Cable will almost certainly be chancellor in exchange for the LD's support. That will be Clegg's price

[VectraMan]

Clegg + ????

Can't see gordo staying put if this happens. Nor can I see him sharing power with anyone.

Labour will still have a lot more seats than the Lib Dems, seemingly regardless of the popular vote. In the event of a Lib-Lab pact, it certainly won't be a 50/50 power share. It'll Brown as PM, Balls as Chancellor, and maybe Clegg and Cable will get relatively minor ministerial positions (I guess Clegg could even be Deputy PM - a bit of a booby prize really). You can see the LibDems agreeing to that as it's the closest to government they're ever going to get.

I think there's a good chance a significant portion of people saying they'll vote LibDem will panic about a hung parliment still lead by Brown, and vote Tory on the day.

[Pondlife]

Maybe they should start a facebook campaign.

Saying they will ban x-factor should do it.

[d000hg]

Well you know what they say - if all the people who wanted to vote LibDem but don't because they know they won't get in, voted LibDem, things would be very different.

[SueEllen]

Trust me, if it's a choice of no power or sharing power, he will.

Locally amongst councillors and MPs, the Lib Dems will work with the Tories or Labour to get things done.

It will be interesting to see if they do on an national and international level especially as lots of Lib Dems have actually worked in the real world and not just for think tanks and trade unions.

[Fred Bloggs]

Clegg + ????

Can't see gordo staying put if this happens. Nor can I see him sharing power with anyone.

Trust me, if it's a choice of no power or sharing power, he will.

[Pondlife]

Clegg + ????

Can't see gordo staying put if this happens. Nor can I see him sharing power with anyone.

[Fred Bloggs]

Lib-Lab pact mkII here we come.

[TykeMerc]

I must admit that I find this Presidential type stuff pretty awful, it's just pandering to the celebrity culture obsessed state of the country and has bog all actual content.

If nothing else unless you're registered to vote in one of the 3 leaders constituencies then you can't vote for any of them.
At least in theory we're supposed to vote for a person to represent the interests of the area and not a Leader (glorious or otherwise) or even a political party.