UK. : Awaiting Clegg's and his MPs' decision..[ 1200 ]

Clegg seeks MPs' backing for talks

the London "Evening Standard ", Sat .,08.05.10

Nick Clegg is due to address Liberal Democrat MPs in an attempt to gain their backing for his negotiating strategy as he embarks on discussions with the Conservatives that could force Gordon Brown out of No 10.

Nick Clegg is due to address Liberal Democrat MPs

Senior figures from the two parties met on Friday night to begin talks on Tory leader David Cameron's "big, open and comprehensive" offer to work together in government after the General Election produced the first hung parliament in a generation.

Mr Cameron promised a committee of inquiry on reform of the electoral system - long a key Lib Dem demand - while shadow foreign secretary William Hague, a member of the Tory negotiating team, said that Cabinet places could also be on offer.

But despite the tantalising prospect of real power, Mr Clegg faces a hard sell to his own party - many of whom remain instinctively hostile to the Conservatives and regard the prospect of entering a coalition with them as an anathema.

Following a meeting on Friday at Lib Dem headquarters between Mr Clegg and other senior party figures, energy spokesman Simon Hughes indicated that the talks with the Conservatives could take some time.

"The process has to take its time. It is going properly, carefully and respectfully, respecting the views of the British people," he said,

Earlier, however, Mr Hughes warned that simply creating a committee of inquiry on voting reform would not be enough to secure an agreement and he questioned whether Mr Cameron could actually deliver real change.

Meanwhile, Mr Brown made clear he had not given up hope of striking a deal with the Lib Dems that would enable him to remain in office, despite losing more than 90 seats in the election - Labour's biggest loss in 80 years.

The Prime Minister said that he prepared to legislate immediately on electoral reform with a referendum to enable the public to choose which system they preferred. But while Labour make more natural bedfellows for the Lib Dems than the Tories, Mr Clegg may well be unwilling to prop up an unpopular premier who he has said publicly he does not trust.

Although Mr Clegg found himself the new "kingmaker" of British politics, his meeting with MPs may be a subdued affair. The pandemonium of "Cleggmania" which erupted during the campaign failed to translate into votes and the party saw its share of the popular vote increase only marginally from the last election in 2005 while its tally of seats fell by five.