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By Tony Grew - 12th September 2010
A new Tory MP regarded as a leading moderniser has called for an electoral pact with the Lib Dems at the next election.
In the conclusion to his new book, Which Way's Up?, Nick Boles urges Nick Clegg and David Cameron to agree such a pact this autumn.
Boles, MP for Grantham and Stamford and founder of think tank Policy Exchange, is one of the prime minister's most inlfluential advisers.
The book, on sale from today, argues that the policies of the coalition will transform the country.
There are chapters on "managing migration to keep our kingdom united", "healing the wounds of a broken society", "boxing clever to keep Britain safe" and "using defecit reduction to drive radical reform".
However, it is Boles' call for an electoral pact between the coalition government partners that is likely to raise hackles from some in his own party.
"Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs need to feel that we are more likely to win re-election, both individually and as a government, if we support the coalition, than if we turn our backs on it," he argues.
Boles describes a liberal conservative government as "Britain's best hope of surmounting the challenges that lie ahead" and urges the prime minister and his deputy to enter into a formal agreement.
"The pact would be in two parts, to deal with each of the possible outcomes of the Alternate Vote that is to be held in May 2011.
"If the British people choose to keep the first past the post electoral system of electing MPs, as I hope, the pact would give Conservative parliamentary candidates in Conservative-held constituencies a free run against other parties: the Liberal Democrats would not put up a candidate and would urge their supporters to vote Conservative.
"Liberal Democrat candidates in the seats they hold would be granted an equal free run by the Conservatives: we would not put up a candidate and would urge our supporters to vote Liberal Democrat.
"With all constituency boundaries likely to change as a result of the equalisation of constituency sizes and the reduction in the number of MPs, the calculation of which seats are held by which party will have to be done on the basis of the notional majorities that would have been achieved if the last election had been fought on the new boundaries."
Boles also proposes the two parties agree which of them should fight "the most marginal Labour, Scottish Nationalist and Welsh Nationalist seats".
In the case of an AV election, the parties would urge second preferences for their coalition partners.
Boles also calls for restriction of movement of EU nationals in Which Way's Up?
He argues that in future any EU citizen who applies for local authority housing, benefits or non-emergency NHS treatment should first have "either a job or sufficient funds to support themselves in the UK. If they don't, they should be told to leave the country and denied all benefits and other services."
Boles says this is a legal course of action under an existing EU directive that should either be enforced or properly incorporated into British law.
Which Way's Up? is published by Biteback.
Article Comments
The long-standing electoral pact in Australia between the rural-based National Party and the Liberal Party has been the bedrock on which nearly 40 years (of the last 60) stable coalition Federal government has been built.
The parties agree not to field rival candidates against sitting members, but compete where sitting members retire/resign, in newly created seats, and in seats held by Labor or other parties. It's well worth considering in the UK.
Bill Royce
13th Sep 2010 at 4:31 pm
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