Labour must seriously consider a Lib Dem coalition deal

“A Lib Dem and a Tory are stood on the edge of a cliff,” starts the old joke, “Who do you push first?”

Tasteless? Probably, but hardly worth covering a child’s ears over. Funny? I plead subjectivity, your honour.

Yet it’s still around after all these years: previous incarnations have a Trot or an SDP member in place of the Lib Dem, depending on who you felt more aggrieved by in the 1980s.

What’s the real butt of the joke? Is it that that a political opponent is going to get pushed off a cliff? No. It’s the overwhelming tribalism of the Labour supporter. There is a strand of Labourism, of which I count myself a part of, that is loyal, bordering on evangelical, with members up and down the country proudly spending weekend mornings knocking on doors to spread the good news Labour Rose newsletter.

This is nothing new (perhaps traceable to the role Methodism played in the Party’s creation) and you only have to look at Keir Hardie’s celebration of the telephone as an excellent way of spreading “socialist propaganda” to see how single minded we can be.

One can only imagine what his reaction would have been to the advent of Twitter.

While this commitment is undoubtedly laudable, it can be problematic. Those outside the walls of our famously “broad church” are often viewed from inside not just with suspicion, but with disdain. They are the ones who stand in the way during our permanent journey toward social justice, and that is unforgivable.

That’s why the LabourList survey last week worried me, when I saw that over 70% of respondents would want an all-member ballot on the possibility of a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. Not because it might be voted down, but because I think many would dismiss it out of hand.

We have to be realistic: we may not win a majority next year. That is no attack on the Party’s direction – to be on course for the most votes after the defeat we suffered in 2010 is no mean feat – it is simply true. If we end up as the largest party in a hung parliament, our first priority must be to try and form a coalition. There is no point having policies to befit the country if we cannot implement them. If that means having to strike a deal with the Lib Dems, then so be it. After five years of this Government, it would be irresponsible to further delay the opportunity to start repairing the Tory damage.

Obviously, I would not support a coalition deal blindly. It of course depends on the terms of the agreement. It is hard to see how Nick Clegg could remain in any sort of position of power. Would he really be able to take part in a Government that repeals the Bedroom Tax, Gagging Law and the Health and Social Care Bill? I don’t think so, and I think the reversal of these pieces of legislation would have to be non-negotiable in any coalition discussions.

If the Tories and Lib Dems cannot form a majority together, then the alternative would be to struggle on as a minority Government, failing to enact any real and meaningful reform. Occasionally we could pass the odd bill with some cross-party support and would probably go back to the electorate after a year or so, during which time they will have seen a weak Government defeated in the Commons time and again. That does not inspire me with confidence.

Worse still is the possibility that the Tories and the Lib Dems are able to form another coalition despite Labour being the largest party. To me, the notion of watching a Conservative walk back into Downing Street next May is beyond the pale. And if it happens because Labour members were not willing to contemplate a coalition I would be driven to despair.

We may not want to work with the Lib Dems, but we may have to.

As the punchline to the old joke goes: “Business before pleasure.”