Next week’s election may well bring Conservatism to a crossroads.
Next week’s election may well bring Conservatism to a crossroads. If David Cameron fails to secure a majority, he will have a choice: should he seek to enter a deal with the Liberal Democrats as the flailing Ted Heath tried (and failed) to do in February 1974? If so, would he agree to voting reform which could change the nature of our politics forever? Or would he carry on in a minority government until it is necessary to call the inevitable second election? The latter is the riskier path. It is also the only acceptable one.
Much rot has been spoken about hung parliaments — or, as the BBC has started to call them, ‘balanced’ parliaments. History shows they do not work in Westminster. Of the four hung parliaments in the last century, only one (1929-31) lasted more than a year.
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