There wasn’t a box on the ballot paper inviting voters to reject Gordon Brown’s government and offer half a mandate to the Conservatives’ David Cameron. The British system does not work like that. It delivers to its prime ministers clear, decisive majorities. Think Margaret Thatcher or Tony Blair. This was the tradition torn up by this week’s extraordinary election.
In an eerie display of collective intuition, the individual choices of millions of voters contrived to align perfectly the parliamentary arithmetic with the angry ambivalence of the national mood. Mr Cameron had done enough to secure the keys of 10 Downing Street, the voters judged; but not enough to be granted a free hand.
Read Full Article »