Labour seeks common ground with Lib Dems for future coalition

Ed Miliband's allies have started poring through the Liberal Democrat manifesto, claiming there is a "pretty substantial overlap" of policy that could allow a Lib-Lab deal if there is a hung parliament after next month's general election.

Mr Miliband's refusal of a formal coalition with the Scottish National party has refocused attention on a less politically contentious Labour pact with Nick Clegg's party.

Lord Mandelson, a long-time Labour conduit for talks with the Lib Dems, said: "Obviously Ed Miliband's first choice would be to have a Labour government, pure and simple, and I would strongly support that.

"But if needs must, most in the Labour party would put the Liberal Democrats way ahead of the SNP in terms of desirable allies."

Another senior Labour figure said: "There have been no formal talks with the Liberal Democrats but people are reading each other's manifestos. There is a pretty substantial overlap."

Although the Lib Dems could lose around half of the 57 seats they won at the last election in 2010, a return of 25-30 seats could still put Mr Clegg in the position of kingmaker, courted by both Mr Cameron and Mr Miliband.

Both Labour and Lib Dems want higher taxes on the wealthy, oppose heavy cuts to welfare, back higher spending on NHS and schools, and embrace green policies. They also oppose an EU referendum in the next parliament.

<

The tabular content relating to this article is not available to view. Apologies in advance for the inconvenience caused.

The Lib Dem manifesto, published this week, opposes any expansion of London's airports, while Labour could back a new runway after the publication of the Davies Commission's report on aviation capacity this autumn.

Meanwhile Mr Clegg also wants to eliminate the budget deficit by 2017/18, while Labour has been vague on its own timetable.

However, none of those areas of policy difference feature explicitly on the front cover of the Lib Dem manifesto, suggesting that Mr Clegg may be able to compromise in any coalition deal.

There could be other obstacles, however. Mr Clegg regards Labour as "tribal" with an inbuilt hostility to the Lib Dems - reflected in abrasive and abortive Lib-Lab coalition talks after the hung parliament in 2010.

Norman Baker, a left-leaning former Lib Dem minister, said it would be easier to work with the Tories because they were more "transactional" than the often "emotional" Labour party.

<>Some Lib Dems fear a coalition with Labour could submerge their identity. "With the Tories we're the nice guys," said one party strategist. "With Labour, we'd be presented as the fiscal hard men, the nasty guys."

Although the Lib Dems and Tories have big political differences - notably on Europe and welfare cuts - Mr Clegg and Mr Cameron have a functional relationship and a record for finding compromises.

Both Labour and Lib Dems say no official or even semi-official talks on a possible coalition are under way, not least because their very existence - if leaked - would be damaging to both sides.

The Lib Dems do not want to be seen as favouring Labour over the Tories, while Mr Miliband does not want to give any impression he is countenancing defeat.

However, the Lib Dems already have a negotiating team ready to begin work on May 8, including four ministers - Danny Alexander, David Laws, Steve Webb and Lynne Featherstone - along with Kate Parminter, a Lib Dem peer.

One person close to the Lib Dem negotiating team said the party did not even know who was in the Labour team, although Lord Falconer, the Labour peer, is leading work on the party's "transition" to government.

A Miliband aide said such discussions were "endless journalistic games" before admitting that the "usual unofficial channels" were still open.

One Labour insider said many in the party believed Mr Miliband could run the country as head of a minority administration because the rump of Lib Dems would be mainly leftwingers who would not vote down Labour initiatives.

© The Financial Times Limited 2015. All rights reserved.
FT and Financial Times are trademarks of the Financial Times Ltd.
Not to be redistributed, copied or modified in any way.
Euro2day.gr is solely responsible for providing this translation and the Financial Times Limited does not accept any liability for the accuracy or quality of the translation