tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1262428583972703917.post4205872811701926027..comments2023-03-25T12:22:10.884+00:00Comments on Aloadofoldstodge: Nothing to Get "Hung" Up About..loadofoldstodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06547546574930006676noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1262428583972703917.post-23401056496502683042007-03-12T20:13:00.000+00:002007-03-12T20:13:00.000+00:00Thanks for the comments.Benedict: I understand wha...Thanks for the comments.<BR/><BR/>Benedict: I understand what you are saying and I'm sure the Conservatives will use every opportunity to put that spin on it.<BR/><BR/>I also think that three years down the track, things may look very different and what Sir Menzies said will be largely forgotten.loadofoldstodgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06547546574930006676noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1262428583972703917.post-6138055114013759242007-03-12T11:45:00.000+00:002007-03-12T11:45:00.000+00:00You correctly observed that ". . .the nightmare fo...You correctly observed that ". . .the nightmare for Conservatives is that a successful Labour-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government might introduce proportional representation and in effect permanently exclude the Conservatives from Government."<BR/>I can understand this fear, though I don't agree with it. And I think that the Liberals should also be worried. <BR/><BR/>Eventually, the more and more voters will get tired of the same old cosy coalition between the Labour and Liberal parties, and switch their votes to other parties - mainly (but not exclusively) to the Conservatives. If they are unlucky, the Liberals may get more harshly treated by the voters for keeping Labour in office. If they are lucky, the voters will punish (if that is the right word) both Labour and Liberal parties equally.<BR/> <BR/>Here are just a couple of possibilities that could follow on from this:-<BR/>1) Those Liberals who don't feel that they are getting quite what they want out of the Labour coalition will start to find the prospect of working with the Conservatives more appealing, especially as they will be able to act as a brake on their more right-wing policies. Given a General Election result where the Tories are clearly the largest party (for example, having a lead of 10+ percent in the popular vote over Labour), it would be difficult to argue against giving them a chance - especially if the Lab-Lib coalition itself cannot command an overall majority in the HofC anyway.<BR/>In the worst case, the Liberals may split into right and left factions. The Liberals DO have a historical precedent of losing sizeable chunks of people to the Conservatives after a split!<BR/><BR/>2) The Liberals cling to Labour to the bitter end, and voters percieve that the only way to get rid of the governement is to vote for the Tories. The Conservatives would have to probably get a plurality of the popular vote (or mighty close to it) to achieve this. Of course, gaining office in such a 'legitimate' way would give the Conservatives a mandate for radical change which may be welcomed by their supporters and dreaded by their opponents.<BR/><BR/>The problem for the Liberals with PR is that it forces them to take part in Government, rather than just adding their voice to the opposition. If they really want PR to become accepted by the voters over time, they have to behave as an impartial power-broker, there to protect the country from the wilder extremes of the other parties. If they continually act as a prop to Labour, they simply become indistinguishable from them in voters minds.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1262428583972703917.post-65398487163534251332007-03-12T00:06:00.000+00:002007-03-12T00:06:00.000+00:00Stodge, your problem is that for the purposes of a...Stodge, your problem is that for the purposes of an election campaign your cat is out of the bag.<BR/><BR/>He need not have said anything, instead he allowed himself to be portrayed as closer to Labour and never with the Conservatives.<BR/><BR/>That is and was a massive mistake leading me to publish this:<BR/>http://aconservatives.blogspot.com/2007/03/lib-dems-announce-suicide.html<BR/>followed by this:<BR/>http://aconservatives.blogspot.com/2007/03/lib-dem-suicide-note-in-press.html<BR/><BR/>Alas what frank Luntz says is true, it is not what you say it is what people here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1262428583972703917.post-11722313128677399132007-03-11T18:16:00.000+00:002007-03-11T18:16:00.000+00:00AgreedAgreedAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1262428583972703917.post-84150461050552696262007-03-11T17:53:00.000+00:002007-03-11T17:53:00.000+00:00That's about right, Stodge.It beats me why the LD ...That's about right, Stodge.<BR/><BR/>It beats me why the LD leadersip bothers to explain what it would do in the event of an HP. Common sense tells you it would all depend on the exact number of seats each Party had and what the attitudes of their Leaders was in the event of the reality of no overall majority. There are so many hypothetical scenarios that it is pointless indicating what may or may not happen.<BR/><BR/>The simple and correct answer on any Politicain, LD or otherwise, should be 'We are Politicains and will do what Politicians do - make the best of the circumstances we find ourselves in and get the best deal possible."<BR/><BR/>Who would expect anything else?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com