Negotiations continue as Britain faces hung Parliament

7 May 2010 | By Alistair Driver

IT’S official. The UK will have its first hung Parliament in 36 years, with the Conservatives holding the largest number of seats.

The Tories are on course to win around 307 seats, Labour 260 and the Lib Dems, the big losers of the night given all the hype surrounding ‘Clegg mania’ during the campaign, less than 60.

This is based on a Conservatives share of the national poll of 37 per cent, with Labour on 28 per cent, their lowest share for many years, and the Liberal Democrats just 23 per cent, according to the early projections.

What it all means is that a period of fevered negotiations between the parties as both the Tories and Labour strive to form a Government.

The war of words has begun already with Conservative leader David Cameron declaring Labour “has lost its mandate to govern”.

But while the Tories will feel they have the legitimacy to form the next Government, and could yet do so without Lib Dem support, senior figures in the Labour Party have made it clear they will fight to cling on to power for as long as it remains feasible.

All eyes will be on the Lib Dems, whose leader Nick Clegg gave nothing away in his own acceptance speech. Will he offer passive to the Tories on the simple basis that the public has given them the biggest mandate to govern? Or could he be tempted by concessions on voting reform by Labour?

It could take a ‘many, many days’ to sort it all it out, according to the BBC’s Nick Robinson. Until it is Gordon Brown could remain PM, in name at least.

A great deal potentially is riding on the outcome for farmers. Key Tory policies of interest to farmers include:

· Far-reaching reform of the CAP, shifting funds away from direct payments, potentially if anything, going further down that route in forthcoming negotiations than Labour .

· Getting rid of some of Britain’s rural quangos, again suggesting they would further and deeper on Defra ‘efficiency savings’ and budget cuts than Labour.

· Introducing a badger cull to help control bovine TB, in contrast to the Labour policy of developing vaccines for badgers and cattle.

· Put the Agriculture Minister in charge of the RPA management board to try and sort out the mess the agency in.

· Introduce a supermarket ombudsman, as would Labour.

· Look to cut the regulatory burden on farmers.

They would also offer a free vote on overturning the ban on hunting.

The question will now be raised as to whether any of these policies, Tory or Labour, would be compromised or reined in in a hung Parliament, where outside help is needed to push policy through. Only time will tell on that.

There is still a long way to go. Farmers Guardian will continue to follow events closely. We will be:

Running a live feed with input from our journalists, the NFU and, of course, you.
Posting regular updates on Twitter under the #farmelection hashtag
Keeping an eye one the key rural constituencies.
Monitoring the fate of the big names connected to farming, past and present.
Seeking expert opinion as events unfold.