Now PM urges Lib Tory to save us
DAVID Cameron will today issue a rallying cry to Lib Dem and Ukip voters as fears grow that Britain is heading for weeks or months of political paralysis in a hung Parliament.
The Prime Minister says he wakes in the night worrying about the country ‘ falling into the wrong hands’ after Thursday’s election.
Speaking at a rally today, the Tory leader will urge backers of smaller parties to switch to the Conservatives – warning of their ‘inescapable choice’ between him or Ed Miliband.
He will put Tory plans to cut taxes for 30 million working people, by raising the income tax threshold to £12,500 and the 40p threshold to £50,000, at the heart of his campaign.
On a visit to Yorkshire and Warwickshire yesterday, he directly addressed Lib Dem or Ukip voters, urging them to ‘stop and think’ about the dangers of letting in a Labour government propped up by the SNP.
Mr Cameron plans to seize power if the Tories emerge as the largest party but again fall short of an outright majority – but faces a bitter power struggle. Senior Labour figures indicated they will seek to form a minority government even if their party finishes second. With the backing of as many as 50 Scottish Nationalist MPs, they could still enter Number 10.
It would be the first time since 1924 that a second-placed party has formed a government. Conservative ministers say voters would question the legitimacy of such an administration.
But Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said yesterday: ‘David Cameron is trying to claim he can cling on to Downing Street, regardless of the constitutional rules or historical precedent. It’s nonsense.’
The row suggests Britain could be facing a hung parliament in which no stable government can be formed – heralding economic turmoil and a long period of political uncertainty.
Tory sources say they expect to win at least 290 seats, giving Mr Cameron the chance to declare his intention to govern and daring Labour and the SNP to stop him by striking a formal deal.
Even without a formal pact, Labour and the SNP are expected to join forces to try to vote down the first Queen’s Speech – the legislative programme – of a minority Conservative government.
Labour MP Jonathan Reynolds, an ally of Mr Miliband, said: ‘Would the Queen read out a Queen’s Speech she knows doesn’t have support of the Commons? Personally I think not.’ Mr Miliband’s inner circle is said to have discussed how to keep him in place, believing a Tory-led coalition with a smaller majority than 2010 would be inherently unstable. They argue Labour needs to be ready for a second general election within months.
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg indicated yesterday that the largest party had the right to seek to govern first, suggesting he could agree to Mr Cameron’s proposed EU referendum in exchange for more spending on schools and smaller welfare cuts.
But he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme there was a ‘wariness’ in his party about the idea of entering coalition again. Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander confirmed that the Lib Dems would seek to work with whichever party had more seats.
Mr Cameron will say today: ‘By Friday you’ll either have Ed Miliband or me as your Prime Minister. It’s that simple, an inescapable choice: me leading a strong and stable Government, or with him: the chaos of being held to ransom by the SNP.
‘It’s that’s close. The risks are real and present. If Labour wins with the SNP’s help, Britain and its economic recovery will grind to a halt. The SNP will hold the Government to ransom every time there is a vote in the House of Commons – demanding more borrowing and higher taxes to pay for more welfare.’
‘Risks are real and present’