A coalition government after the next election may take longer to form and could be a messier process than in 2010, the former cabinet secretary at the heart of the Tory-Lib Dem coalition talks has warned.
Lord O’Donnell speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme pointed out that in Belgium coalition talks can last as long as a year.
He said he did not expect UK talks to extend that far but it said might be more difficult to negotiate a deal than last time since political leaders would be under greater pressure than in 2010 campaign to set out their non-negotiable red lines in advance of any talks, thus making a deal harder to secure.
He stressed that in the period of any such talks David Cameron would remain prime minister. He said a new prospective prime minister can only go to Buckingham Palace to be asked to form a government if it is clear it can win the support of the Commons.
He added it was possible the election might lead to a multi-party government as opposed to a two-party deal.
He said he was sure the current head of the civil service, Sir Jeremy Heywood, would be following the Scouts’ motto: “Be prepared”. He also praised the way politicians behaved in 2010, adding that the coalition had been a more stable form of government than many predicted.
O’Donnell has taken it upon himself in recent years to try to set out the broad procedures the parties will be expected to follow in what remains murky waters for Britain’s unwritten constitution.
Those involved in talks in 2010 also forecast it is less likely, but not impossible, that the pressures from the markets for British politicians to form a government will be less intense than in 2010.
