It seems clear that the next few months are likely to demonstrate exactly why proportional representation would be an unmitigated catastrophe. The short-term deal-making and veiled attempts at self-preservation have already started, and Labour appears to have slung their idea of making politics more transparent right out of the window. Do they really think the public is naive enough not to see straight through their offer of a referendum on electoral reform? Brown might as well have come out of No. 10 yesterday and said "we know what Clegg wants, and we also know that the Tories won't offer it, so this gives us the best chance of clinging onto power, and that's why we're doing it." We all saw his unashamed attempts to sidle up to Clegg during the first debate, and his subsequent move away from him having been criticised for it. It now seems as if he has said to himself: "Sod it: it's all I've got." The whole episode just highlights the fact that Brown is clawing onto what he has for himself, and hasn't faced up to the fact that he's lost. Face it, Gordon: at the first opportunity in three years to pass judgment on your leadership, the nation has come back with a resounding 'no'. Even Lord Mandy himself seems to have gone unnaturally quiet, which everyone concerned must count as a blessing of some sort.
Clegg's integrity would go through the floor if he turns around now and accepts a deal with Labour, having said very clearly not only that he would not help Brown squat in Downing Street, but also that the Conservatives should have the first right to try and form a government. The most important thing now isn't some abstract ideological battle over voting: it's trying to avoid an immediate second election, and trying to make a start on tackling the most immediate issues. Priorities, priorities, Nick: the first being to send Gordon packing so that work can begin.
