British election leaves all options open - Summary

London - Britain's general election produced a stalemate Friday which left open the prospect of a new, Conservative-led government or a continuation of Labor rule.

An intense battle for power ensued as both Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Conservative leader David Cameron said they would enter into talks with the smaller Liberal Democrat Party to secure a stable government.

Cameron's Conservatives emerged as the biggest force from Thursday's poll, while failing to gain an absolute majority to govern alone.

After votes in all of the 649 contested constituencies were counted Friday, the Conservatives were shown to have won 306 seats, just 20 short of an overall majority.

Labor came second with 258 seats, representing a loss of 91 seats compared with the last general election in 2005.

The Liberal Democrats secured 57 seats, down five from 2005.

In percentage terms, the Conservatives' share of the popular vote stood at 36.1 per cent, Labor was at 29.1 per cent and the Lib Dems at 23 per cent. Turnout for the election was 65 per cent.

The figures confirmed a hung parliament, a situation where neither of the two big parties has an absolute majority.

Brown, who appears determined to stay on in his job despite heavy Labor losses, offered the Liberal Democrats a referendum and swift legislation on electoral reform in what he called a "progressive pact" to prevent a Conservative government.

But Cameron said that Brown had lost his mandate to govern, and also offered "comprehensive talks" on cooperation with the Liberals that he said were in the "national interest."

A Conservative party spokesman said Cameron had already spoken to Clegg on the telephone Friday, adding that an offer of cabinet posts was "not excluded."

Earlier, Clegg said he would talk to the Conservatives first, because they had become the biggest party.

His decision will not have been welcomed by the Labor party, which has been openly wooing Clegg to enter into coalition talks in the hope of clinging on to government.

Government circles insisted that the "basis exists" for a coalition agreement with Clegg, built around the issues of electoral reform and the economy.

"My duty to the country, coming out of this election, is to play my part in Britain having a strong, stable and principled government, able to lead Britain into sustained economic recovery," Brown said.

As the wait for clarity continued, the prime minister was locked in talks with his closest aides in Downing Street to assess the possibilities of a government pact with smaller parties.

But there were clear signs that the process would be drawn out.

The Liberal Democrats said they would hold a crucial meeting Saturday to consider possible alliances.

Meanwhile, there were no signs that Queen Elizabeth II, who would have to "invite" the future government leader, was in any hurry to do so.

The monarch, who was staying at Windsor Castle outside London, is unlikely to become involved until the situation becomes clearer, constitutional experts said.

It was her view that it was "up to the politicians to get together to produce a solution," one expert said.

The result was a shock for Clegg, who had been branded the "superstar" of the 2010 election.

"We simply haven't achieved what we had hoped," Clegg said.

Pre-election opinion polls had forecast a 35-per-cent vote share for the Lib Dems.

The party has been campaigning for electoral reform aimed at replacing the present majority first-past-the-post system with proportional representation.

Throughout the campaign, the key question had been whether the Liberal Democrats, desperate to seize the chance of a lifetime, would back Labor or the Conservatives in a new government.

Under the unwritten rules of Britain's constitution, the sitting prime minister can first ask Queen Elizabeth II for the chance to form a government.

However, convention also states that the party with the most seats has the "moral" right to ask to form a government.

The dramatic all-night election count produced a number of surprises.

Peter Robinson, the Protestant leader of the government in Northern Ireland, lost his seat in the Westminster parliament in his Belfast east constituency.

Meanwhile, Caroline Lucas, the leader of Britain's Green Party, made history by becoming the first Green member of parliament in Britain.

Nick Griffin, leader of the far-right British National Party, failed in his attempt to win his first parliamentary seat in the working class district of Barking, east London.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/322557,british-election-leaves-all-options-open--summary.html.