THE LibDems are reportedly eyeing a coalition deal with Labour for after the next General Election – and are even said to have set one key term.
Keir Starmer must concede to implementing electoral reform in exchange for the party’s support, a source told the New Statesman.
Both parties are fresh from recent by-election victories and hopeful they will topple Boris Johnson’s scandal-hit government in the next poll, expected in 2024.
But it is uncertain whether Labour will clear the bar for an overall majority, meaning they will need to rely on support from smaller parties Starmer wishes to form a government.
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It is not known which electoral forms the LibDems are reportedly demanding but the party previously pushed for alternative vote (AV), a more proportional system of voting than first past the post.
One of Nick Clegg’s terms for getting into bed with the Tories in 2010 was for a referendum on the issue, which voters rejected.
A source told Kevin Maguire, who writes the magazine’s gossip column and is also associate political editor of The Mirror, the party would reject offers of ministerial posts in exchange for electoral reform.
It could spark fears in the Tory party a Lib-Lab deal could also undo the hard Brexit deal signed by Johnson’s government, despite Keir Starmer’s past pledges to stick with the status quo.
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