Bomb disposal needed

11 May 2010 By Neil Collins

Horsetrading between Labour and the LibDems is a distraction from the urgent need for spending cuts. A cobbledtogether coalition including Britain’s Scottish Nationalists risks a loss of confidence in debt markets, which as Greece has discovered, can happen without warning.

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In the UK general election held on May 6, the Conservative Party won 306 seats, the Labour Party 258, the Liberal Democrats 57 and other parties 28. The Democratic Unionists got 8, the Scottish Nationalists 6, Sinn Fein 5, Plaid Cymru 3, the SDLP got 3 and there was one each for the Greens, Alliance Party and an independent. An overall majority requires 326 seats, but analysts say 323 seats is usually enough because Sinn Fein MPs do not vote.

David Laws, the Liberal Democrat spokesman for children, schools and families, said on Monday afternoon that his party had agreed that the UK deficit should be cut "as soon as possible", following talks with the Conservative party to form a government in the wake of last weeks' inconclusive UK general election. "The parliamentary party has also agreed that deficit reduction and a plan to bring down the deficit as soon as possible must be at the heart of any agreement," Laws said.

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