Keep well out of it, you fools

For what it’s worth, my opinion is that Labour should know when it’s time to admit defeat, and do everything within its power to make a Lib-Lab coalition so impossible for the Lib Dems to accept that the negotiations grind to a halt. I think this for two main reasons: first, this is just about the worse time to form a government, and if they sit this one out they’ll be able to duck some of the horrendously difficult and almost certainly unpopular decisions that will need to be made (they’ll also have the advantage of facing a Lib Dem Party in the future that’s tainted by association); and second, a period in opposition will give them time to regroup, with a new party leader at the helm, and develop a fresh new policy platform. The alternative: the shakiest of shaky coalitions trying to negotiate times more treacherous than ever, doesn’t bear thinking about. I say this all as a Labour Party member and someone who finds the idea of a Tory government mildly terrifying.

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