Labour pulls out of coalition talks
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Labour has pulled out of coalition talks with the Liberal Democrats.
Sources have told the BBC that the party had acknowledged that talks with the Lib Dems have not and will not reach any positive conclusion, and they are now discussing the method of declaring that their side of the negotiation is over.
The LibDem federal executive and parliamentary party are expected to meet at 7.30pm. Any coalition deal would require the support of three-quarters of the members of both bodies.
Tory MPs are expected to meet at 8pm.
There are also reports of luggage being loaded into two government cars at the back of Number 10.
The news comes after senior Labour party figures such as former home secretary David Blunkett came out against a Lib/Lab deal, saying it would be “a coalition of the defeated”.
Cabinet minister Andy Burnham also publicly cast doubt over the prospects for a Lib/Lab coalition saying Labour had to “respect the results of the general election and we can’t get away from the fact that Labour didn’t win”.
According to BBC business editor Robert Peston, a Lib/Con coalition would go forward with a joint economic policy which would see a partial or gradual introduction of the LibDem’s proposals for a tax-free allowance on income tax up to £10,000 and would also include the Conservative plans for £6bn of spending cuts. Peston also says the coalition would put a halt to Tory plans to increase the IHT threshold.
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Readers' comments (16)
Exasperated me | 11 May 2010 4:23 pm
I fee a terrible mixture of hope and dread...
The hope is that we get out of this mess and the dread is how bad is it really? Will anybody come clean?
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Paul Greek | 11 May 2010 4:28 pm
I am pleased to see at last that some people in the Labour Party have some sense and have realised that as they were defeated it would not be right for them to form a government, Unlike Gordon Brown, who want to cling to power at any cost - regardless of the damage it would do to the country.
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Good bye Gordon | 11 May 2010 4:31 pm
I am honoured to be the second person on this blog but the first to say, bye bye Gord!!
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blair Cann | 11 May 2010 4:47 pm
If this is true then whoever borrowed the calculator in the cabinet must have returned it just in time. 306+59......
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Duncan Jones | 11 May 2010 4:49 pm
This is the right result for DC and the Tories BUT bad news for Clegg's Liberal Democrats. If I were DC I wouldn't trust Clegg with a petty cash tin. As they say if you lie with dogs you get fleas. At least there are some principled members of the Labour party though I thought I would never say it! Let's now get on with sorting out this mess should only take a decade or two.
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Jack Morris | 11 May 2010 4:53 pm
Thank goodness at last common sense prevails. The coalition of the defeated, thanks Mr Blunket, will not go ahead. I do not know why Mr Clegg would ever consider going in to business with Gordon Brown. 'Before I hand over greater powers to the European parliament I will hold a referendum'. That was only one of his sly moves, of course he booted it through with no reference to the british people. Justice and common sense prevails at last.
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Bob | 11 May 2010 4:53 pm
I suspect that this is the first of many elections without an outright majority.
Let's hope politicians can put the Country before themselves (something I'm not terribly confident in), and make the right decisions, for the future of the Country and future elections.
The attitude of people has been changed under this Government to spend on tomorrow's pound to fund today's consumption. It was never sustainable, and we all need to accept that. Remember Brown's 'prudence' speech?!
How many people do you know that have honestly thought they were getting wealthier by remortgaging their home over the last 7-8 years?!
I am politically unswayed by the parties, but am presently anti-New Labour. And if Balls/Milliband hope to become the new leader, I don't think my views will change.
Get lost Brown, and good riddance.
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Anonymous | 11 May 2010 5:00 pm
Great News.. now we need the conservatives to get rid of the FSA!
Then we can all get on with trying to earn a decent living.
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Anonymous | 11 May 2010 5:01 pm
Want a good book to read? Try "Gordon is a Moron" by Vernon Coleman. It may be a couple of years old now but it still says it as it is. Oh and also bye to Gordon, you will not be missed!
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Paul McKay | 11 May 2010 5:06 pm
Name one race that you win and then have to negotiate with the person who came third as to whether you can collect your medal...or not! There is not a leader amongst them is there? Why didn't Cameron, as the winner, form a minority government on Friday and IF it did not work out he could have called a second General Election later and, yet again, put it back to the people to decide, again!
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