It might actually work though, especially with UKIP supporters.

The Tories are in complete panic mode, The last time this happened was 1997 when they ripped themselves apart over Europe for the whole election campaign, this time its the SNP.

I think and hope it will backfire mainly because Cameron made a vow to Scotland asking them to 'lead the UK' no less, now here is doing his best to keep their leading party, voted for by the public!, out of power and influence. Its a disgrace for the PM of a democratic country to behave like that. All it takes is those clips to be played back and I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet. Labour and the SNP are a bit slow off the mark here in their return attack. Unless they are working on something....

Latest TNS-BMRB poll (16 - 20 Apr):
LAB - 34% (+2)
CON - 32% (-2)
UKIP - 15% (+1)
LDEM - 8% (-1)
GRN - 5%

He wants to work with the largest party that has someone called Cameron leading it. He was quite keen on going again with the largest party but now that it looks like it could possibly be Labour, he has now changed to he could work with the party with the second largest number of seats.

I'd agree that it does seem he'd rather work with Cameron.

I'm constantly amazed by the level of comfort that Lib Dems (both elected officials and members) seem to have with the current coalition and the prospect of a second one. Did I just dream all those years of the LDs fighting Labour from the left? Picking up millions of anti-war/new labour voters as they went along? Dont get me wrong, I understand that there has always been the Orange Book, Tory-lite brigade at the heart of the party leadership, and that some of their rural support is fairly conservative, but what about the other section of the party that joined because they wanted a more progressive option than Labour? Yes, these people probably kept quiet for the good of the party during the coalition period but surely now you'd expect them to be extremely unhappy with the stance that the Lib Dems are now taking.

I saw Vince Cable on the Marr show on Sunday. At one point he was seen as one of the awkward 'anti-Tories', however his interview was very much on message. No sign that he had any problems with another Tory coalition. Then Jeremy Browne on The Daily Politics who, unsurprisingly, was eager for another Tory government. Charles Kennedy is about to be defeated, Farron has barely said a word during the election and Simon Hughes is telling people that he doesn't really care as long as the Lib Dems are in government. . . . . .

I am extremely surprised by Vince Cable too actually, I'd be interested to know whats changed his stance.

Vince's stance will probably change back if the Lib Dems lose over half their seats as predicted. I'm most interested however in knowing what will happen if Nick Clegg loses his own seat as the polls are suggesting he will. Surely such an event would put a Lib Dem/Tory pact off the table?

He was 1/3 at the bookies last I heard. Good favourite.

I suppose that's related to the anti-LD stance Labour actively took on themselves after the election. The LDs have, under Clegg in the last five years tried to re position themselves as fighting from the left of the Tories as a neutralizing force - and perhaps being in the centre overall.

I suggest that's him being publicly on song, rather than his own real feelings. The LDs won't rule out their options in public now - and certainly those a part of the party hierarchy won't either.

The funny thing is the only party that has worked with the SNP in the manner the Tories are talking about is the bloody Tories. Without their support its doubtful the SNP could have survived in Government long enough to win the 2011 election.

Labour HATE the SNP, it goes right back to the way the SNP stabbed Jim Callaghan in the back in March 1979. It was after that Labour coined the "Tartan Tories" monicker for the party. Its a fundamental part of the DNA of Scottish politics the hatred Labour has towards the SNP which is why I just cannot see Labour doing any deal with them least of all if its the SNP that stops Labour winning a majority which they otherwise probably could have expected to at this election and on these polling numbers.

Tories and labour have swapped places this week,

These polls are like muscial chairs!. Anyone remember playing that at school?

The Exit Polls (in reality now just one poll as Sky and ITV gave up their own ones in 2010) differ significantly in size and method. The first is size,the Exit poll is usually 14000 participants and its conducted outside polling stations immediately after the person has cast their vote. Its also IIRC done privately with the person asked to mark a mock ballot and post it in a box.

What's fascinating about the infamous 1992 exit poll is that according to David Dimbleby moments before the BBC went on air it had pointed all day to small Labour majority and just as they went on air the evening returns came in and suddenly it changed to hung parliament.

Therefore it must be just as disgraceful for Sturgeon, the 1st minister of Scotland to be trying to openly do deals with anyone who willl isten to Lock out the Tory party as she puts it who are also democratically voted for by the public. Her language with regard to the tories is in itself disgraceful imo. Cameron has every right to state his opinion with regard to why he thinks the SNP having too much power in the UK considering their whole existence is to break up the union and divide these Islands

Preach it! Preach it! Sing it from the rooftops and preach it!! 🙌👏👏

But Cameron claims to be a Unionist yet he's making an anti Unionist argument.
If Cameron can't make his Parliamentary arithmetic at Westminster work then that's his failure. Why aren't the tories doing better in Scotland?

You can be a unionist and still see the folly of what is happening, Sturgeon and the Scottish voters have made it clear that they still want independance which is fair enough (I only wish that the UK as a whole had been able to vote as I am sure they would have got their wish) and so the SNP will imo be a destructive and divisive force if they get any where near power within Westminster.

Labour does hate the SNP, but are idiots to blame the SNP for the break up of the Callaghan government. If they hadn't fiddled the Scottish referendum so dead people were counted as no voters, then the SNP wouldn't have voted against the government. Even Callaghan didn't blame the SNP.

Thank you for that link, Radiomike.

What that article does show is that the predictions from the exit polls in the most recent general elections have been pretty good overall and I expect the one that will be issued at 10pm on 7 May will be pretty accurate too.

You can't be a Unionist and make an anti Unionist argument.

There will be no referendum unless we leave the EU anytime soon which we won't under Labour.

In recent days the argument was the SNP should have no power because no one outside Scotland can vote for them. Now it's shifted to what it's really about probably because of the glaring inconsistency of the tories being willing to be propped up by Northern Ireland only parties.

I would argue that the current government is very divisive.

What would your argument be if Scotland instead of electing lots of SNP mps electing lots of independents who all supported SNP like policies Inc future independence? What argument could be made against their legitimacy while adhering to a belief in Parliamentary democracy?

I don't have argument against any democratically voted MP whomever they stand for and that includes the SNP, I just believe in the right for others to oppose their view and speak out for what they believe, in this case its giving to much power to a party that wants to destroy the union. I see no reason why anyone( including a tory) cannot speak out and warn people of the dangers of letting such a destructive force have so much power. People can accept or deny these claims as they wish but the language,name calling and attitude towards anyone who states their case imo is what is discraceful.

Because the Scots are stuck in the past and still think it's 1985?

I have not used offensive language to you on this forum.

Mps are elected for one term and the chances of a referendum in this parliament are virtually nil so the deliberately emotive destroy the union catchphrase is meaningless and deserves little traction.

That sounds like a bigoted ignorant generalisation to me. The tories bear no responsibility for their lack of political success in Scotland -it's simply a case of blame the voters?

Everytime a Scot mentions the Tories, it's always "because of the Thatcher Government" that gets cited as the reason. Like it or not, the hatred for a PM that hasn't been in power for 25 years is still burning in the bellies of the Scots and Northern English.