Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Brown has resigned.
Update: Brown has now resigned as Prime Minister. BBC.
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Brown offers to resign before Labour conference ... to make way for formal negotiations with LibDems.
Brown says his cabinet is now putting together formal terms for negotiations with the LibDems, similar to that taking place with the Conservatives. Brown says Clegg has requested formal negotiations with Labour, as the LibDems continue negotiations with the Conservatives.
This surely means the negotiations for a coalition have just got rather more complicated. Brown says he believes the country wants and needs a 'Progressive coalition'.
The LibDems are not happy with the lack of detail coming from the Conservatives. Clegg and his team have just turned up the pressure massively on the Tories and got Brown's qualified resignation. This is high stakes.
More here.
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Brown offers to resign before Labour conference ... to make way for formal negotiations with LibDems.
Brown says his cabinet is now putting together formal terms for negotiations with the LibDems, similar to that taking place with the Conservatives. Brown says Clegg has requested formal negotiations with Labour, as the LibDems continue negotiations with the Conservatives.
This surely means the negotiations for a coalition have just got rather more complicated. Brown says he believes the country wants and needs a 'Progressive coalition'.
The LibDems are not happy with the lack of detail coming from the Conservatives. Clegg and his team have just turned up the pressure massively on the Tories and got Brown's qualified resignation. This is high stakes.
More here.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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If this Labour-LibDem coalition were to happen (with other smaller parties) then the country would end up with another unelected Prime Minister. Will the electorate accept this?
Who do we think that new Labour leader would be; David Milliband, Ed Balls, Alan Johnson, Harriet Harman?
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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Matt, this is a parliamentary system not a presidential. We don't elect the Prime Minister. The constituencies elect MPs who forms part of a block of MPs in Parliament. The majority block then has the right to form the government. From this block the PM is chosen by the party MPs. The electorate didn't vote John Major into office either when Maggie resigned.
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Permalink Reply by StephenBln on
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The electorate didn't vote John Major into office either when Maggie resigned.
or Callaghan in 1976
MacMillan in 1956
Eden in 1955
Churchill in 1940 (please note, with Major, four tories!!)
and so on.................
This is what I've always hoped for.. It all sounds very German.. the largest party starts the talks, but doesn't always guarantee them power.. A consensus representing all voters not just those that voted for one party.
Running the country should not be decided by a horse-race..!
p.s. this really is a very historic day.. not only in the U.K. The speculators on Wall Street and in London have at last achieved what they didn't want. A Euroland with one economic policy.. European Politics has changed for ever today.. This might now turn the pressure on to Sterling.. and the UK economy, which are both very weak.
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..and I also forgot Alec Douglas-Hume in 1963 (understandable really), anyway he puts the count up to 5 unelected tory P.M.s since WW2.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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This country has never elected the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party in power.
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That will probably also have to change in a PR system..
Why should the leader of the largest grouping in a coalition automatically become PM.. ?
Why should the leader of the second largest grouping automatically become Foreign Secretary
i.e. Paddy Ashdown in the new 'Progressive Government'.. if it happens..
Much better that he/she is legitimated as leader of the country by a vote in Parliament after the election.. for a set term of four or five years.. with May 1st becoming election day.. Then he'll/she'll be sure that the coalition that he/she leads is behind him/her.
BTW, we have lots of 'endearing' names for our different coalitions red/green, black/yellow(Conservative-Liberal), a 'traffic light coalition' for red/yellow/green or a 'Jamaica coalition' for black/green/yellow
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Permalink Reply by Mr Growbag on
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Mr Growbag's 5p-worth:
Had the LDs or Labour got just a few more votes, a Lib Lab coalition might have worked. As it is, even with the support of the SNP and Plaid, they would have a pretty tenuous grip on power. Plaid have made it clear they will only support the coalition in return for a disproportionate boost to funding for Wales. Wouldn't surprise me if Alex Salmond's price were a referendum on full Scots independence. I just don't see it being a viable option.
I think Nick Clegg was right to negotiate in the way he has - the Tories have the clearest mandate to govern, and the LDs have every right to offer their support in some way if they can reach a compromise benefiting both parties. Tory government toned down/limited by the Lib Dems' policies sounds like a better option to me than a.) another election, b.) a fragile coalition that will collapse in 5 minutes and be hostage to the regions or c.) a minority Tory government (see a.) )
As regards Brown's replacement, my money would be on Milliband or Alan Johnson. I'm not sure Balls or Harman have enough support within the party. My nightmare outside chance: Lord Mandelson - cementing the place of his memoirs as the replacement to Machiavelli's "The Prince"...
Hmm... more like 10p. Went off on one a bit there. Oops.
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Liz, John you know exactly what I mean. There will be a new leader of the Labour party who possibly heads the coalition government, a leader who didn't lead Labour in this recent election. And yes you are right about Major.
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Permalink Reply by rahman on
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We may not elect our prime-minister, but in reality, when the majority of ordinary people are completing their ballot sheets on election day, they are heavily swayed by who is in charge of the party they are voting for.
Any labour leader who steps in now is not going to have the complete backing of their party in the same way Gordon Brown was despised, partly because he did not have the backing of the electorate and walked in to the job.
I think it will be a disaster for the UK if we now have a lib-lab coalition that is not led by GB.
Whilst I voted labour (best of a bad bunch as far as I could see), with the prospect of a David Milliband led coalition, I think I'd rather see Cameron in. At least we know that he is capable of strong leadership since he has a party that have seemed to have been behind him all the way - and he holds the trump card that he was seemingly endorsed by the majority of voters in the election so evidently has sizeable public backing too. As much as I dont like his policies, I think he offers the most stability, and that is what we need right now.
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Either way Clegg has got the scalp he wanted ... Gordon Brown. Clegg didn't like the man at all, is what is being said in the media. Nick Robertson thinks Clegg is fairly comfortable dealing with Cameron but, his party isn't and it's them that have demanded talks are opened up with Labour.
Ed Balls, John Reid (and others) have apparently suggested that Labour go into opposition, take stock and rebuild for the next election which, depending what happens may be fairly soon. The thinking being that the party in power, having dished out the cuts and tax rises, will see themselves out of power.
It's true that the 'rainbow' or progressive coalition would be very unstable, especially with the regional parties demanding more funding as a condition of support, just when the deficit needs paying off.
Suddenly the Tories are desperately offering more to the LibDems.
Shakespeare would love this!
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I'm sorry Matt, where's your evidence that a coalition will be 'unstable' ?
The last real coalition in the U.K. (1940-45) was very successful. Isn't the current situation that the country finds itself in also a reason for parties to work together rather than have continual petty squabbling ?
It's time for the country and perhaps even you to get out of the 'confrontational tribal mode' of doing politics..
In countries where coalition is commonplace.. the parties produce an agreement for the coming legislative period and what they want to achieve and all are bound by that. There is in fact, more control over what the government or Prime Minister can do.
No more Iraq wars, Poll taxes etc., etc.,
Very unstable? I don't think so..
and BTW, prior to the election, the Tories stood on a platform of no PR. They were only offering a tweeking of the current system (of course, not just for their own benefit). Therefore they have IMO, forfeited their right to play any part in a progressive government that will bring forward just that.
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