Reply #40: Quoting a combined *vote* for Labour and Lib Dems doesn't mean much; their *seats* were under 50%

[muriel_volestrangler]

and Collins ignores that totally in his comments. He doesn't mention once that Labour and the Lib Dems would have needed to bring in other parties to form a coalition.

Collins hasn't bothered talking about this, but Labour basically turned down the idea of a coalition, by not moving on their positions, and with various Labour MPs denouncing the idea of a coalition betwen Labour and the Lib Dems the moment the formal talks started:

For most Lib Dem MPs, the prospect of a deal with Labour was dead within about four hours of Gordon Brown opening it up as an option by resigning on Monday, despite negotiations.

On Monday night, Lib Dem MPs and activists were aghast as Labour MPs took turns on television to denounce the idea of a pact between their two parties as a "coalition of losers" even as the two teams of negotiators were in talks.

When their negotiating team reported back to their parliamentary party after their first meeting there was shock.

Every one of the Lib Dem negotiators gave an individual report back of their meeting with Harriet Harman, Lord Mandelson, Ed Miliband, Ed Balls and Lord Adonis, and they each reached the same conclusion: that the Labour team were uninterested, with no movement on ID cards, the third runway at Heathrow, or increasing the proportion of renewable energy from 15% to 40%.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/11/liberal-democrat-mps-coalition

Note that the Tory-Lib Dem coalition have already announce the cancellation of ID cards, the scrazpping of the 3rd runway, and Chris Huhne has been made Energy and Climate Change Secretary, and so will be able to encourage renewable energy (new nuclear stations may happen, which the Lib Dems didn't want; but Labour wanted those anyway). But it was Labour who scuppered the idea of a coalition. By Tuesday lunchtime, Andy Burnham, a Labour cabinet member and possible leadership candidate, was giving interviews saying various cabinet members were against the coalition: http://blogs.channel4.com/snowblog/2010/05/11/burnham-speaks-out-against-a-rainbow-coalition/

If Collins wasn't writing the article to talk about PR, then he shouldn't have mentioned it in 4 paragraphs and the opening sentence. The main subject of the article is PR. Collins also doesn't quote everything Clegg said before the election about negotiations. He said that if a party got the most votes and seats, then it should have the first chance to try to form a government. And after the election, Brown said that made sense too. Cameron invited the Lib Dems to talks; after some time, the Lib Dems also talked to Labour, but as we have seen, Labour's heart wasn't in it.

I really think Collins is out of his depth here. He just hasn't been following what's going on.