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  1. Spotlight on Policy
  2. Elections
11 May 2010updated 27 Sep 2015 2:19am

Hopes dashed as progressive alliance is buried for another generation

Labour MPs show that they are not fit for office. But Tory troubles do not end here.

By James Macintyre

This comes from the scrum outside parliament, where the media have gathered to witness the end of the Labour government and the crowning of the media-friendly Tory leader, David Cameron.

I have already expressed my views about the Labour MPs who helped that process by publicly choosing opposition and what they perceive to be their own interests over those of the country.

“We want to keep our seats,” one says. As a result of that, and the willingness of the Lib Dems to prop up a Tory government diametrically opposed to its core values (a willingness I am the first to admit I badly underestimated), the dream of a reunification of the Labour and Liberal movements lies in tatters.

Instead, Labour will enter opposition and a leadership contest that is for another day.

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However, with major divisions in all three parties brought about by this extraordinary election, Cameron’s leadership should not celebrate too hard yet. I just bumped into a senior Eurosceptic Tory MP who is opposed to a coalition and told me he had just told Cameron as much. He also expressed deep concerns about how the two parties could agree on Europe. Indeed.

Well, that and many other things are their shared problems now.

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