Toby Young Toby Young

A Lib-Con coalition is best for Britain, best for me — and my free school in Ealing

Toby Young suffers from Status Anxiety

issue 15 May 2010

Over the past five weeks I have often found myself cursing the British public. I cursed them when Labour’s support started climbing in the opinion polls, grumbling about how some people didn’t deserve to vote. I cursed them when they flocked to the Lib Dem banner following Nick Clegg’s performance in the first debate, complaining about the madness of crowds. And I cursed them on election night when it looked as though they’d granted Gordon Brown a stay of execution, leaving open the possibility that he could cobble together a ‘coalition of the losers’.

In the end, though, they’ve got the outcome they wanted and probably the one that’s best for the country. I know, a Lib-Con coalition wasn’t on the ballot paper, and when the pollsters asked people if they wanted a hung parliament a majority said no. But if you combine the people who voted Labour and Lib Dem it adds up to 60 per cent and if a Lib-Con coalition had been on the ballot paper I suspect it would have won a comparable share of the vote.

Get Britain's best politics newsletters

Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in