So we are back at the Palace of Varieties with far more MPs than expected – and relatively few casualties.
“The results have been immeasurably more crushing and unkind than I could ever have feared.”
Plus: The OBR isn’t needed to audit manifestos. The SNP’s sleight-of-hand on austerity. A lack of debate on healthcare. And: don’t make promises you can’t keep.
“I’m not gagging for power for power’s sake,” he tells Andrew Marr.
The Prime Minister brandished that Liam Byrne note. Miliband’s weaknesses on the economy and the SNP showed up. But more floaters broke for Clegg than for either.
Plus: The CCHQ charm school. Disgraceful Livingstone. Untruthful Clegg. Nasty Russell Brand. Where I’ll be on election night. And: Advice to candidates for the count.
The final result probably won’t differ much from what we expected a month ago. But even small differences matter.
“We would insist that a stability budget would be introduced within fifty days to make sure that we balance the books… in a fair way.”
Based on recent polls and allowing for a bit of slippage here and there, here’s the worst that could happen.
Gove’s declaration that the Conservatives won’t have discussions with UKIP if the Commons is hung is tactically understandable but strategically wrong.
Through the mass of parties, we can see the contours of two opposed and increasingly solid political blocs composed along traditional lines.
How could the Conservatives get by without a majority and outside a coalition? With equal parts of humility and clarity.
Plus: Tories – too vague. UKIP – too specific. LibDems: what are they for? Why the polls could all be wrong. And: I win an award, and am baffled.
There are policies here that provide the common ground with both major parties, from hawkish deficit reduction targets to envy taxes.
Plus: This week’s focus groups in Pudsey, Hazel Grove, and Rossendale & Darwen; and how much do we really know about the party leaders?