Across the pond

The mainstream media has missed the most important message of the verdict of the British electorate. British democracy is re-juvenated. They voted.  And they voted for a hung parliament. In very large number, more than twice as many as the one third of the US electorate who gave George W Bush his one vote triumph  which led to the Iraq war, which Labour’s Tony Blair joined in on.

They voted for a hung parliament.

Despite the pleas of David Cameron, amplified by the right-wing press.

Unmistakeably they told Gordon Brown that they wanted him to go. Forget the problems of our electoral system. The popular vote gave Cameron two million more votes than Brown.

They also gave an emphatic thumbs down for Nick Clegg. Despite the enthusiasm generated after the first TV debate, when he emerged into the limelight as  the one politician, who seemed honest, who was offering something differrent.

They gave him fewer seats. More important the popular vote gove the Lib Dems 23 per cent, no more than they have achieved before Cleggomania hit the nation.

Not because they are stupid. Not because they don’t think he might have made a better prime minister than Cameron or Brown.

But because they recognised that the best the Lid Dem could hope for, was as a junior partner with  Labour or the Conservatives.

Brown is absolutely right to stay in Downing Street. And wait while Clegg and the Lib Dems, decide, whether they will accept David Cameron’s offer to co-operarate with them.

Meanwhile running the country.

He is on much more shaky ground when he asks them to consider an alliance with Labour, under his Premiership.

The electorate has rejected him. Many of his own cabinet colleagues think he should have gone before this election.

But a Lib Lab pact is not even on the agenda.

It would require either Labourr agreeing to a government, with Clegg as PM, which the Labour Party would not agree to.

Or a government with a new Labour leader. But within the Labour party there is no agreement as to who that leader should be. Should it be Ed Balls, who is hungry for the job. Or the avuncular Alan Johnson.

Labour does not know. And the credibility of Labour, on building a  case for another Labour government, led by someone not elected by the voters, is zilch.

So Clegg needs to realise, right now, that he is NOT the kingmaker.

The electorate would only go on respecting him, if he was the Prime Minister in a Lib Lab pact.

Which is not a realistic possibility.

His choice is whether to help Cameron in his supposed government which will put the interests of the country above those of party.

Or whether to accept the verdict of the electorate.

Give Cameron his chance to solve our economic problems.

But don’t accept the Cameron shilling.

Cameron policies are based on proctecting the rich in the cuts we will have to face. Not just the middle class but the super rich.

That is not fair.

Because it is the greed of the super rich, which has caused our present crrisis.

If he wants a fairer society, which I believe he does, he should stay on the opposition benches, and oppose Cameron when he tries to make the poor suffer for the problems caused by the super rich.

And when he seeks to protect the rich even more by his proposals on inderitance tax.