Sir Keir Starmer & Sir Ed Davey will hold ‘serious’ talks to plot path to No10 coalition
SIR Keir Starmer and Sir Ed Davey will hold “serious but deniable” talks to plot a path to No10, a leading Lib Dem let slip yesterday.
Party grandee and fellow knight of the realm Sir Vince Cable said scrapping first-past-the-post elections and replacing them with a European-style PR system would be the Lib Dems’ price in a hung parliament.
In an incendiary admission, former Cabinet Minister Sir Vince boasted that a “confidence and supply” arrangement with Labour “is very plausible . . . subject to agreement on reform of the voting system”.
He added: “You can be sure that serious, but deniable, conversations will be taking place over the next year.”
Labour made big gains in last week’s local elections but polling experts doubt whether Sir Keir could secure a General Election majority.
Ex-MP Sir Vince’s comments came after the Labour leader, interviewed on TV, refused 11 times to rule out entering the so-called Knightmare pact with the Lib Dems.
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Sir Keir has ruled out a deal with the SNP but has left the door open to a coalition with Ed Davey’s party.
Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak used PMQs to mock the plotting — noting both the Lib Dems and the Labour chief have U-turned on axing uni fees.
The PM, under fire for losing 1,000 seats at last week’s local elections, said of Sir Keir: “He’s not just Sir Softie, he’s Sir Flakey too.”
A Lib Dem spokesman said: “Vince doesn’t speak for the party. We hope he continues to enjoy his retirement.”
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After initially refusing to rule out any post-election pacts, a Conservative Party spokesman last night said: “We will not be doing a deal with any other party.”