The odds of the Lib Dems forming part of a Government in the UK was poured scorn on by many commentators prior to the election. They claimed the Liberal Democrats were irrelevant and had no chance of success. The electorate, impressed by the campaign and Nick in particular responded by giving the Lib Dems 1 million extra votes to our high watermark of 2005*.
The result left the Westminster based government in a situation novel to almost all of its inhabitants. A hung parliament. Thankfully, some people had prepared , Gus O’Donnell, Westminster’s most senior civil servant had been out to New Zealand to study how they did it. In Wales and Scotland as well as countless local councils, the parties had experienced negotiators. If you read the press you’d think coalition politics was something new to the UK. Actually, it’s just new at Westminster.
With x factor they always say the winner goes on a journey. For many in the party I think they have been on one over the last ten days. People who have fought the Conservatives, Labour or Plaid in bitter struggles have countenanced the idea of working with them to deliver change. The public generally don’t like tribal politics, so this is a good thing – hard though it is for some activists.
Nick had promised the electorate that they would be the kingmakers not him; and so it proved. Good to his word, and with support from the Parliamentary Party and Federal Executive he first sought to talk to the Conservatives who had received the most votes and the most seats. To do anything else would have been dishonest. A negotiating team was formed, including David Laws who had helped negotiate the Welsh agreement in 2000. We had men who knew what they were talking about.
In the main the Conservative and Lib Dem talks were well conducted. Challenges in negotiations are on points of difference. To be able to explore options it is vital that there is a high degree of trust between the teams so to the media’s intense frustration these talks were marked by a lack of leaks from either the Conservatives of the Lib Dems. It became clear during these talks that whilst the Conservatives were willing to compromise on some issues they weren’t going far enough for the deal to be palatable. It was also clear that they would be more conciliatory if a full coalition, as opposed to supply and confidence was the basis of discussions. A position people understood as it was likely to lead to a far more stable government. On reflection both the Parliamentary Party and the Federal Executive opted to talk to Labour.
The numbers with Labour only stacked up with the support of Nationalists, the SDLP and others. Making a stable government with those range of interests was always going to be a challenge, even for people for whom it was a preferred philosophical direction. Unfortunately, whilst Gordon Brown offered talks in all genuineness, and stood aside to try and make them successful the Labour party fractured around him. Their negotiating team never really took the talks seriously. Senior members, including former cabinet ministers, lined up to tell the press that they didn’t want to govern. The team refused to compromise on key issues, such as scrapping ID cards and in contrast to the Tory talks leaks started happening. Some members of the Labour team took to tweeting during the meetings, maybe they were planning a leadership bid of their own? A cynic may suggest knowing the position of the country’s finances Labour chickened out and decided government wasn’t for them. It’s worth noting that other potential partners in this arrangement have also heaped blame at Labour’s door.
Talks with Conservatives resumed, with an understanding that coalition rather than supply and confidence was the way to achieve a stable government and deliver more progressive policies. The final deal was bought to a joint meeting of both parliamentary parties and the Federal Executive. The mood there was much as it was at conference, surprise, excited and based on a resolute determination to do what was best for the country. It may turn out that it isn’t the best thing for the Liberal Democrats, but it is up to us to control that. For now we are in Government we have the opportunity to change things. It is said boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Now we need to make that happen.
*An analysis of how this led to less seats for us is for another post..
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