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Clegg names price for Labour: no Gordon Brown

26 April 2010 18:15 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg made clear today that he would be prepared to support a Labour Party which had slumped to third in the share of the vote - but not if Gordon Brown remained in Number 10, APA reports quoting â€œTimes Onlineâ€.
With opinion polls pointing to a hung Parliament, Mr Clegg said it would be â€œinexplicableâ€ for Mr Brown to remain as Prime Minister if his party had finished with fewer votes than the Tories or Lib Dems, even if Labour had the most seats.
But he said he would be prepared to work with anyone else within Labour or any other party who was prepared to deliver his aims, including electoral reform which is an â€œabsolute pre-conditionâ€ for renewing British politics.
It was the most explicit statement of intent yet from the Lib Dem leader who is looking increasingly as if he might hold the balance of power after May 6.
Speaking on a visit to Lady Haigâ€™s Poppy Factory in Edinburgh, Mr Clegg said he would co-operate with whichever party was prepared to offer fairer taxes, a shake-up of the education system, economic reform and wholesale changes to Westminster politics.
Under political convention, Mr Brown would be offered the chance to form a government in the event of a hung Parliament following next Thursdayâ€™s election. But Mr Clegg said: â€œI think, if Labour do come third in terms of the number of votes cast, then people would find it inexplicable that Gordon Brown himself could carry on as Prime Minister, which is what the old convention would dictate.â€
He added: â€œAs for who Iâ€™d work with, Iâ€™ve been very clear - much clearer than David Cameron and Gordon Brown - that I will work with anyone, I will work with a man from the moon, I donâ€™t care, with anyone who can deliver the greater fairness that I think people want.â€
Put to him that he would work with the â€œman from the moon but not Gordon Brownâ€, he said: â€œI donâ€™t think Gordon Brown - and Iâ€™ve got nothing personal about him - I just donâ€™t think the British people would accept that he could carry on as Prime Minister, which is what the convention of old politics dictates when, or rather if, he were to lose the election in such spectacular style.â€
In an interview with Sky News Mr Clegg was pressed on whether he would be prepared to work with alternative Labour figures such as Alan Johnson or David Miliband. He said: â€œI will seek with whomever else to deliver those big changes that I want, in the way the economy is run, the way the tax system works, the way our education system works and, of course, cleaning up politics from top to toe.â€
Mr Johnson, the Home Secretary, yesterday went further than any senior Labour figure in suggesting his party would be ready to open up a debate on proportional representation (PR) for Westminster elections.
At a press conference in Edinburgh Mr Clegg was asked whether the Lib Dems would â€œhold the country to ransomâ€ by withholding their support unless they got a proportional voting system.
He said: â€œMy position is, because of the eccentricities and unfairness of the electoral system, which has now become more obvious than ever before, I think electoral reform is a first step which any government of whatever composition needs to introduce to start restoring public trust in the political system.â€
He added: â€œI donâ€™t think after this election it will ever be possible to put the genie back in the bottle. Electoral reform is an absolute pre-condition for renewal in this country.â€
Mr Cameron this morning avoided making an explicit commitment to preserving the first-past-the-post system for Westminster elections. But he made it clear that he did not want to ditch the voting method and made it more difficult for himself to cut a post-election deal with the Lib Dems by saying that a change to PR would be a â€œbig, big mistakeâ€ and would lead to a situation where politicians ruled by â€œhaggling and schemingâ€.
â€œThis is the great con of PR,â€ he said. â€œIt doesnâ€™t put power in the hands of the people, it puts power in the hands of politicians.â€
Mr Clegg told the BBC: â€œItâ€™s quite clear that David Cameron wants to set his face against any serious change in our politics.â€
A senior Lib Dem source said that the decision to demand the head of Mr Brown in exchange for support was taken in response to polls indicating that Labour could have the most seats even if it received fewer votes than the other two main parties.
The source said that the Lib Dems had now made clear their position in two possible scenarios after the votes had been counted. They have previously said that a party with the greatest number of seats and the greatest number of votes would have the first chance to form a government either on their own or with support.
The Lib Dem source said: â€œWhat we suggest to David Cameron and Gordon Brown is that they should set out what they intend to do if no party has an overall majority.â€
The party would not necessarily require Cabinet posts in exchange for support in a coalition government. â€œWe have said all along this is about political priorities, not bums on Cabinet seats,â€ the source said.
Labourâ€™s campaign co-ordinator, Douglas Alexander, said that Mr Clegg was overplaying his hand before the voters had even spoken â€” and said that a vote for the Lib Dems risked letting the Tories in.
â€œMy sense is that Nick Clegg has somewhat overreached himself, maybe intoxicated by all the publicity he has received by getting into the speculation business,â€ Mr Alexander said. â€œHe has shown clear and consistent hostility to Labour in recent days. If you flirt with Nick Clegg you will find yourself married with David Cameron. We think that is a powerful argument.â€