As the election period draws to a close and a hung parliament looks likely, many are already looking to the post election period.
As the election period draws to a close and a hung parliament looks likely, many are already looking to the post election period. Whilst it is obvious that from May 8th onwards there will be conversations between different parties, one observer has suggested that the Conservatives are about to try and change the way those conversations are presented.
In a recent article in Open Democracy, Adam Ramsay writes that,having set a timescale of 11 days for discussions, David Cameron will do everything he can to ensure a Conservative government no matter what. The critical thing, Ramsay suggests, will be to create the ‘mood of the nation’ via the mainstream media, to delegitimise any arrangements between Labour and the SNP. It won’t matter that these two parties will have a functional majority, enough to rule the country, the narrative will be that Ed Miliband lost. And this will allow David Cameron to stay at no 10, if only for a few weeks. If his government then falls, there will be a second election, for which the Conservatives will be better prepared and funded.
It sounds the stuff of conspiracy theories. However, way back in December, the Mirror reported that the Conservatives were already fundraising for the possibility of a second election.And yesterday’s Sunday Times published an article stating David Cameron will declare victory on Thursday if he wins most votes. So maybe not.
Elections should be about democracy. Which means we should abide by the results whether we like them or not. When we have a hung Parliament, we should respect the fact that no party has won the day, and we expect our politicians to get to the best workable deal.
If the Conservatives win 300 seats or more, they will clearly be in the position to form a coalition government (probably with the Liberal Democrats) or have sufficient votes to rule as a minority. Some of us might not want to accept such an outcome, but we’d have to agree to that reality.
If, however, they have fewer seats than this, their right to rule cannot be a given. If Labour could form a coalition or a minority with support from other parties, the Conservatives should acknowledge it is time to bow out. Any other behaviour would be a failure of democracy and suggest the party is putting its interests above those of the country.
At this stage all of this is conjecture, and perhaps the polls will be wrong and one or other of the main parties will have a more decisive victory. But if Adam Ramsay is right, we need to be ready to challenge any attempt by any party to undermine democratic processes.
Now more than ever, we need to stay awake, to be vigilant, to ensure a fair outcome to a tight contest.
* More on the issues in the 2015 General Election from Ekklesia: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/generalelection2015
—–
© Virginia Moffatt is chief operating officer of Ekklesia. Before working for Ekklesia, she spent 30 years working in services for people with learning disabilities, most recently for Oxfordshire County Council.
.