Well after all that, the election results are in but with no clear majority. Britain has a hung Parliament for the first time in 36 years. (link via Channel 4 News)
Gordon Brown is still Prime Minister - but for how much longer? Should Brown resign?
The Conservative Party has the most votes and the most seats and have the right to govern but the Conservatives are 20 short of the 326 seat threshold for an outright majority.
Brown is waiting to see if David Cameron will be able to form a government with the Liberal Democrats. Their leader, Nick Clegg, now has the nickname "Kingmaker" because both the Tories and the Labour parties need the Liberal Democrat's support to to form a government.
Nick Clegg announced today that the Tories have earned the right to govern (the Conservative Party has most votes and most seats) by coalition, and that he had promised he would support the Party that got the most votes. Nick Clegg is doing the honourable thing, even though he knows it's not a popular decision.
And Brown acknowledged that the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have the first chance to establish a coalition but also made it clear that he would be willing to form a coalition with Nick Clegg, if the Liberal Democrats and Conservative deal breaks down.
Mr Cameron spoke today about a possible deal: "I want to make a big, open and comprehensive offer to the Liberal Democrats. I want us to work together in tackling our country's big and urgent problems - the debt crisis, our deep social problems and our broken political system." David Cameron also pointed out their common agreement about issues such as civil liberties and getting rid of the ID cards.
So, is a Conservative/Liberal Democrats coalition a real possibility? I have to say that I'm hoping it is. I'm particularly happy about the promise to get rid of the ID cards.
What are your thoughts about the election? Did you vote? There were reports about some people who tried to vote but were turned away at 10pm when the polling stations closed even though they arrived well before closing time. Were you one of those people who were turned away?
What do you think about a hung Parliament?
Do you think a Conservative/Lib Dems coalition could work?
Do you think another Genaral Election will be called soon?
It will be very interesting to see what happens next!
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Hi, Maureen! Just dropping by to let you know that you've won a blogger award! You can claim it at: http://americangirlinbristol.blogspot.com/2010/05/honest-scrap-award.html
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy the award and that you have a great weekend. :)
Thanks Lis!:)
ReplyDeleteThis outcome is not surprising! Regardless of what happens in the next few days there will undoubtably be another election within twelve months.
ReplyDeleteAll too typically our electorial system is a shambles and like many other political aspects needs changing and updating. Flighty! xx
Perhaps that's the only good thing to come out of all this confusion with a hung parliament - the electoral system will be improved.
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