Advice for Nick

I haven't posted on here for a very long time, but events are such...

Mr. Clegg is probably being bombarded with advice right now. I'm afraid I'm going to join the cannonade.

First things first, whatever decision is made, it is not going to make everyone happy. It is going to make a lot of people unhappy. The people that the Liberal Democrats have a duty to make happy are the people who granted them a mandate to pursue their manifesto promises. Electoral reform is a keystone of that.

Democracy is not cricket. It is not the Tories' innings.

It is quite clear that any coalition with the Tory party is unlikely to deliver "strong and stable" government. There is not enough trust on either side.

STV isn't going to happen. AV should not happen without a referendum. Labour's offer of electoral reform with putting it to the people is disingenuous, toxic.

Nick Clegg should tell Labour (and the British people) that they must offer a referendum on AV+ (which, after all, has the imprimatur of the Jenkins Commission) for the chance to put together a "rainbow coalition", otherwise he will not vote against a Conservative Queen's Speech.