Legitimate and Representative
The Times reports that Ed Miliband is seeking the support of Britain's union bosses (the Bubs) to bolster his position in the event that Labour seeks to form a 'minority' government based on only one third or so of the popular vote.
Sounds crazy if you ask me, because the are the same union leaders who helped overturn the will of Labour Party members in deciding who their new leader should be and I suspect the wider public will be somewhat sceptical of their advice in deciding how to put together a legitimate and representative Westminster Government.
Ed Miliband would seek union backing at an emergency meeting of the NEC Chris Radburn/PA
By Francis Elliott, Michael Savage and Lindsay McIntosh - The Times
Ed Miliband is set to hold talks with union bosses within 48 hours of the polls closing as he tries to shore up support for entering No 10 without a Commons majority.
As a row broke out yesterday over the legitimacy of a government led by the “losing” party, it emerged that Mr Miliband would seek union backing at an emergency meeting of the national executive committee (NEC), which could be held as soon as Saturday, according to a member of Labour’s ruling body.
Under new internal rules, Mr Miliband also needs to consult Labour MPs before trying to form a government without an overall majority. Shadow cabinet members admitted that he would need to “build legitimacy” if the opinion polls are correct and he wins fewer seats than Mr Cameron.
As the campaign enters its final two days, during a 36-hour tour of Britain David Cameron will question Mr Miliband’s right to govern in such circumstances. Mr Cameron will direct his message at Liberal Democrat and Ukip voters worried about a Labour government backed by the SNP. Nick Clegg has raised similar legitimacy concerns.
Last week Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, Labour’s largest financial backer, said that he expected Mr Miliband to “work well with any progressive party who seeks to support the vision that he has of changing Britain for the better”. He pointed out that half of Unite’s Scottish membership supports the SNP. A Labour aide hit back, saying: “All the noise coming out of the mouths of David Cameron and Nick Clegg is about how they can cling on to power even if their coalition loses its majority.”
The argument came as a poll indicated that Tory supporters were planning to vote tactically for the Lib Dems in Sheffield Hallam to stop Mr Clegg being deposed by Labour, amid reports that the coalition partners are prepared to “move quickly” if the results allow for a second pact.
Mr Miliband will plead his case at meetings of the NEC and parliamentary Labour party (PLP). Union representatives make up more than a third of the NEC’s membership and form its largest bloc.
One member predicted strong support for a minority Labour government from union bosses and Labour MPs. An attempt to form a coalition with the Lib Dems would face more opposition, however, and Labour MPs could force a vote.
Mr Miliband will also face much tougher opposition if he seeks to bind his party to a commitment to resist SNP demands for measures such as an increase in the minimum wage and less austerity.
The Labour leader again hardened his promise not to do a deal with the Scottish Nationalists, ruling out “arrangements” with the SNP. Nicola Sturgeon tried to turn the legitimacy row back on the Conservatives. The SNP leader said that the “test of legitimacy” for a government that included Scotland “cannot simply be that it is the largest party in England”.
Labour can take power even if it wins fewer seats than the Conservatives because SNP, Plaid Cymru, the Greens and SDLP in Northern Ireland are all committed to voting down a Conservative Queen’s Speech — the test of whether a government is viable.
The smaller parties said that they could put Labour into power but then target its first budget with demands including a rise in the minimum wage, more NHS spending and less austerity. The Fixed Term Parliament Act means that they could vote against Labour’s emergency budget this summer without bringing down the government. Leanne Wood, the Plaid Cymru leader, said that Labour was wrong to think that her party was “in their back pocket” and that Plaid would be prepared to vote against a Labour budget.
Ms Sturgeon repeated her threat that her party would be prepared to vote against an emergency budget. The SDLP said it would have a strong hand to play after an inconclusive result.
Last night Ms Sturgeon suggested that a UK government that did not include SNP representation could be illegitimate. The government formed after the election would have to represent the whole of Britain, she said.
One poll found that her party was on course to win the vast majority of Scottish seats, while the latest YouGov poll had Labour and Conservative tied on 33 per cent each.
Ms Sturgeon said: “A test of legitimacy that should be applied to whatever government is formed after this election cannot simply be that it is the largest party in England. The test that must be applied is whether a government can build a majority and win support that reflects the whole of the UK. English MPs will always be the largest part of any Westminster majority, but to ignore Scottish voices would be wrong.”
Mr Cameron was warned by senior figures from his own side not to use questions of the legitimacy of a Labour government to deflect Tory anger if he fell short. “If there is an anti-Tory majority in the Commons on Friday, we are dead and no amount of bluster will change that,” one influential Tory said.
Another said that No 10 had “misread the mood” of Conservatives if it believed they would automatically back Mr Cameron after winning more seats than Labour. Senior Tories said that the benchmark for a credible attempt at government was between 285 and 290 seats depending on the tallies of other parties.
