The Day After All The Statements

4:30pm update:
And the rumours begin - this from @GPW_Portland

Lib Dems have six cabinet posts, Clegg becomes deputy PM, sources say.

Dave of the Cam just left Tory HQ. BBC quips 'he's probably just going to McDonalds!'
Plus this is pretty sick if it's true:

4pm:
BREAKING NEWS

BBC hears 'talks are over' between Labour and the Lib Dems and that 'luggage seen at the rear of No 10'.

(5pm: this from the Graun:

Isn't 24-hour news mad? Earlier I mentioned Laura Kuenssberg's observation that hold-alls were being loaded into a car at the back of Downing Street (4pm). She suggested that it might be a sign the Browns were leaving. A few minutes late the BBC reported that they did not belong to the Browns. Then someone suggested they might belong to the Darlings. Now Jon Sopel has said that they weren't the Darlings' either. It turns out they contained police kit.)

It can only mean one thing. Sir Dave of the Cam's about to be crowned king - watch this space...

NOTE: Ch5 reporter says 'door not quite closed on Labour yet' - but how much do we trust Ch5?

2pm update:

Whereas once the Libs' were the most popular team on campus, it now seems both the Tories and the Labourites are struggling to strike a deal with them.

In true Tory style the far-righters want a Conservative minority gvmt free from Lib Dem involvement (all very well but is that what the British public voted for?). Labour, with renewed confidence since Gord quit, look divided on whether they could actually reach a deal with Clegg.

Seems our Nick is somewhere between and rock and a hard place...

12pm update:

This from Conservative MP John Redwood (a bit hysterically...)

[The current situation is] "a disaster for British democracy... It's all that some of us feared about hung parliaments. There's complete chaos and confusion. I think the Liberal Democrats feel they can dictate everything to either of the two main parties. Of course, they're not able to do that, and they've got to decide which compromises they're going to make."

Meanwhile, Nick's still weighing up his options...

c/o quirkybet.com

11:40am:
Alarming update - with it looking more and more likely that the Libs' are eyeing up Labour, bloggers and news agencies are now calling it the Lib-Lab alliance. It's not the alliance as such I have a problem with - in fact I'd far prefer it. But the name! Lib-Lab. Even the Urban Dictionary has been taken unawares.

11:30am update:
The tooing and froing so far. First up was Clegg:

My parliamentary party was up into the small hours yet again discussing things. We will act, as ever, responsibly. We will act to try to do our bit to create a stable, good government that the British people deserve. And I really hope that we will be able to make an announcement so we clear up everything and explain to people exactly what our thinking is as quickly as we possibly can.

Then it was Sir Dave of the Cam and he says it's now 'decision time' for the Libs' (note the impatient tone...)

I've made a very full, very open, very reasonable offer to the Liberal Democrats to deliver that stable government. My own members of parliament have shown that they are prepared to put aside party interest in the national interest by agreeing a referendum on the alternative vote.

It's now, I believe, decision time - decision time for the Liberal Democrats - and I hope they make the right decision to give this country the strong, stable government that it badly needs and it badly needs quickly.

Remember Dave of the Cam last Friday went on and on about speed. Well, speed's not what we've got - at this rate we'll be lucky to have a parliament in time for Queeny's speech. Come on Nick, get a coin and call heads or tails. Both you lose.

Here's a FB group of over 56,000 followers saying 'We don't want the Lib Dems to make a deal with the Conservatives'. It would be interesting to see the party splits of the followers - I'm sure there's more than one or two Tories in there.

10:20pm update:

OK - scrap the Election Blog - this is now called Sky Watch.

This from Super-Bitch Kay Burley



I've got to say I was pretty astounded when this intellectually-challenged reporter goaded poor old Peter Andre into answering questions about how he'd feel if beat-up-faced Alex wanted to adopt his kids (?!?!). But this takes the biscuit.

We're allowed the right to peaceful protest in this country, Ms Burley - it's called freedom of speech.

Sky - please take a long, hard look at yourself.

THIS MORNING:

As with last Friday, the cold light of morning brings nothing much clearer. Labour has wooed the Libs' with Gordon's resignation. The Conservatives have wooed the Libs' with the promise (perhaps) of a referendum on electoral reform.

The Graun's front page this morning describes yesterday as 'events moving at breakneck speed'. I've got to say, Mr Wintour, I respectfully disagree. Although yesterday certainly heated up, we still have no decision.

There's a palpable sense of tension on the news channels and reporters and MPs appear to have resorted to yelling at each other to keep us entertained (this is very cringey - only watch if you like to see grown men point and shout at each other live on television...):



This also goes someway to highlighting brilliantly Sky's biased - their own reporter can't keep a handle on his temper as he shouts 'I'm fed up with you telling me what I think!' and when asked to calm down (and I LOVE this bit) 'he started it!'

And breath...

This from guardin.co.uk, is the situ so far ...

Tory offer to Lib Dems
• Referendum on alternative vote for elections to Commons
• Cabinet seats and other ministerial jobs for Lib Dems
• Agreement on schools, environment and possibly taxation
Labour offer to Lib Dems

Labour offer to Lib Dems:
• Guaranteed alternative vote for elections to Commons
• Possible future referendum on "full PR" of single transferable vote
• Full coalition with cabinet seats
•Broad agreement on deficit reduction
• New leadership for Labour once binding deal with Lib Dems agreed"

We wait with baited breath and secretly cross our fingers that the next PM will be, in fact, Mr David Hotpants Miliband.