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UK opposition parties seek deal to form government

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-05-09 10:28

UK opposition parties seek deal to form government

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown (R) stands with Conservative Party leader David Cameron and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg (L) during a Victory in Europe (VE) Day ceremony in central London May 8, 2010. Clegg sought backing from senior party members on Saturday for a possible deal with the Conservatives after an election in which no party won an outright majority.[Agencies]

LONDON - Britain's main opposition parties will seek to overcome differences on electoral reform and other issues on Sunday to break a political deadlock after last week's inconclusive election before financial markets lose patience.

David Cameron's Conservatives won the most seats in Thursday's parliamentary election but fell short of a majority to form a government and are seeking the support of Nick Clegg's centre-left Liberal Democrats.

It is the first election since 1974 where no one party has won an overall majority, leading to horse trading that is unfamiliar in British politics.

Teams from the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats are due to meet at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT) in an attempt to secure a deal that would end 13 years of Labour rule.

The greatest stumbling block may well be electoral reform, a long-cherished ambition of the Liberal Democrats who would win far more seats if Britain switched from its winner-takes-all system to proportional representation. The Conservatives are firmly opposed to such a change.

A YouGov poll in the Sunday Times showed 62 percent of those surveyed favoured a more proportional system of voting.

The parties must overcome other key differences on economic policy, defence, immigration and Britain's stance towards Europe, but they could find common ground on issues such as lower taxes for the poor and the environment.

Both say they will not be rushed, but are acutely aware of the financial markets' need for decisive action on the country's record budget deficit, running at more than 11 percent of output.

It is unlikely a deal could be reached by Monday, a Conservative spokesman said, noting that the party's new members of parliament, who will be briefed on the negotiations, would not meet until Monday evening.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who continues to rule but effectively was sidelined after he said on Friday that the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats should be given the time they needed to hold talks, nevertheless had phone conversations with Clegg, the Liberal Democrats said on Saturday.

"At the request of the Prime Minister, Nick Clegg took a call from Gordon Brown this evening. The conversation was amicable," they said in statement.

Clegg, who has to win his party's support before any deal can go ahead with either party, was locked in discussions with party officials throughout most of Saturday, which his chief of staff said had been "positive and productive".

The leader also held a 70-minute meeting with Cameron late on Saturday, which both parties said was "amicable and constructive".

Another key hurdle to a deal is agreement on the pace of lowering the budget deficit. The Conservatives have pledged to start cutting it immediately but the Liberal Democrats say this could harm Britain's recovery from a deep recession in 2008-2009.

If the Liberal Democrat/Conservative talks fail, a deal between Clegg's party and Labour is possible, but more complicated as the two parties combined would still not have enough MPs to command a majority in the 650-seat House of Commons.

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