Observer urges Clegg to turn to Labour – and for Brown to go

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

Tomorrow’s Observer leader has stressed the importance of electoral reform, and calls on the Lib Dems to turn to Labour to agree a deal for a reforming government that would seize this “historic moment” to change the voting system.

The paper says that no one won the election, but that there is a clear anti-Tory majority:

“Mr Cameron was battling to restore majority Conservative rule. He campaigned vigorously against a hung parliament, all but demanding unchecked power. He was rebuffed: 10.7 million people voted for Tory government; more than 15 million people did not. But the non-Tory vote was divided, largely between Labour and Liberal Democrats. Despite many local skirmishes, there is a strain of cousinly feeling in both parties that sees the Tories as a common enemy. From that impulse now springs the idea that Labour and the Lib Dems could join forces to prevent Mr Cameron from taking power.”

Noting that the continued leadership of Gordon Brown could be a roadblock to such a deal, the Observer also says:

“The problem is Mr Brown. Whatever convention says about his right to continue as prime minister, the campaign has flayed his authority. The Lib Dems could not plausibly enter a coalition with Labour if the administration that emerged were seen as a rickety continuation of the one that has just been punished by voters. Any ensuing referendum on electoral reform might be construed as a plea to rubber-stamp Gordon Brown’s prolonged hold on power — and be rejected. If a Lib-Lab pact is to have any chance of survival, Mr Brown must signal unequivocally that he seeks to continue only for as long as it takes to get a new constitutional order in place. He must give clear advance notice of his resignation, stating that he will continue as prime minister in a caretaker capacity only. He must accept a timetable, no longer than two years, for a referendum on electoral reform and a new general election, in which Labour will be led by someone else.”

Read the full article here.