ToryDiary: George Osborne insists that a LibLab pact would be neither stable nor legitimate
Lord Norton on Platform: The case for First Past The Post
Lurcher on CentreRight: "There was absolutely no need to offer the LibDems a referendum on AV or any other form of electoral reform."
LeftWatch: Britain is no longer a Conservative country, claims Polly Toynbee
'A Lib-Lab coalition will herald Government of the unstable by the unstable'
"Lenders to Britain (and we need a lot of them, don’t forget, as our national debt doubles in the next five years to £1.4 trillion) now face the prospect of the UK being governed by an unstable minority government eventually to be led by a Labour leader who will assume the Prime Minister’s office without having faced the nation at an election (again). It’s the government of the unstable by the unstable and markets will rank the UK accordingly, with a downgraded currency and a higher cost of borrowing through a traumatised gilts market." - Damian Reece in The Telegraph
"It is untenable to create a rainbow alliance, dependent not just on the vagaries of a Liberal Democrat party prepared to get into bed with whoever is offering the most, but also the Nationalists or Ulster representatives – who could pull the plug on a coalition of the defeated at any time. This would result, almost inevitably, in a massive defeat for Labour at the hands of an electorate who would blame us for flouting the will of the substantial minority." - David Blunkett in The Guardian
How deceit could turn into victory for election losers - Express
Plaid Cymru wants anti-Tory alliance - Western Mail
Peter Riddell in The Times says the progressive coalition would be high risk, containing eight different parties.
"Are the Liberal Democrats seriously saying they would prop up a Labour government?" - Jonathan Isaby in The Independent
"Since last Friday we have lived with the fiction that Mr Brown was simply doing his constitutional duty by staying at the helm until a new government could be formed, acting in the national interest. Now we see that all the time he has been acting in his and his party’s interest, defying the verdict of the electorate by trying to create a coalition of the election losers. This is a bleak day for our democracy." - Telegraph leader
Cameron offers referendum on AV in last ditch effort to secure LibCon deal
"The Conservatives have made a "final offer" to the Lib Dems of a referendum on electoral reform as the battle to form the UK's next government heats up. Tory deputy leader William Hague said he would offer Nick Clegg's party a vote on the Alternative Vote system." - BBC
"The Conservatives are behaving with generosity and decorum. Cameron can now say to Clegg: here is my offer (a referendum on AV, as Hague spelled out to reporters), take it or leave it. If Clegg were to prop up Brown, the deal would last only a few months and a new election would be brought which could deliver a landslide Tory majority." - Fraser Nelson in The Guardian
Vince Cable tried to block LibDem/Conservative talks - Telegraph
The Times reports that Ming Campbell, a long-time friend of Gordon Brown, also helped undermine LibCon talks.
53% want Cameron in Downing Street - YouGov poll for The Sun
Brown steps down"Gordon Brown, although lacking the facile gifts that seem essential to modern politicians, had a redeeming quality. He was a good man." - Roy Hattersley in The Times
"Brown can now relax with his children and start enjoying life again. No man in years long gone was better company over a curry and a glass or two. By resigning as leader of the Labour Party in this way, he has rendered a better service than many past Labour leaders and prime ministers. He opens the way to a new politics if Labour and its natural allies in the progressive two-thirds of British politics choose to shape it." - Denis MacShane in The Independent
Lowering the tone, Jeremy Clarkson gives his verdict in The Sun: "Gord riddance to the Scottish idiot."
New MPs arrive in the Commons"The biggest influx of new MPs for more than 65 years began work yesterday. A total of 233 new members - 149 Tories, 66 Labour, 11 Lib Dems and seven from minor parties - arrived at Portcullis House, the MPs' office block opposite the Commons. Staff were on hand to show them around and get them registered. A 20-page guidebook was also issued - which included giving them tips on how to make expenses claims." - The Sun
Boris Johnson unveils his London transport shopping list - Metro
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