Well, well today just keeps getting more and more extraordinary. The Tories have
responded to the Lib Dems beginning formal negotiations with Labour by offering the Lib Dems a referendum on AV in exchange for a full coalition with Lib Dems in the Cabinet. The Tories stress that
this is their final offer to the Lib Dems.
Having spoken to several members of the shadow Cabinet, it appears that the offer is designed to allow the Tory party to seize the moral high ground. They believe that if the Lib Dems were to join with Labour to ram through a change in the voting system—Labour are offering the Lib Dems AV without a referendum and then a referendum on STV—then they would be discredited.
The Tory leadership is stressing that Tory MPs would be free to campaign against AV in any referendum. Indeed, I am assured that Cameron himself would campaign for first past the post.
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