Do the Lib-Lab talks alter the landscape?

Isn’t it all very cosy?  Turns out the Lib Dem negotiating team secretly met with a Labour delegation over the weekend: Ed Balls, Peter Mandelson, Ed Miliband and Andrew Adonis.  And it’s thought that Nick Clegg has had more conversations with Gordon Brown, both on the phone and in person.  So the Tories aren’t the only ones enjoying some quality LibTime.

It doesn’t really alter the cut of the situation, though.  Most folk around Westminster seem to expect a Lib-Con deal, of sorts, at some point today.  But Clegg and his team would weaken their hand if they didn’t at least explore every option.  The Tory leadership will appreciate this – and, I’m sure, won’t be all that perturbed by these latest developments.