Clegg the Honest Broker?

Nick Clegg's statement this morning about David Cameron and the Conservatives having earned the right to try and rule in the national interest will have done much to enhance his already strong public image - a man taking note of what the people have said, and avoiding the murky business of political horse-trading, especially when it involves the tarnished brand of Gordon Brown's Labour Party. Might it also be a peace offering to the Tories? A way of suggesting that he is not going to queer the pitch by making demands up front? You get the impression that Clegg and Cameron would both be perfectly capable of cutting an amicable deal, but their problem will be in their party memberships - and MPs. Even as Cameron is working out how to approach becoming a minority Prime Minister, there are apparently stirrings amongst some of his right-wing MP tendency to question the campaign and limit his room for manouevre. The BBC's Justin Webb is apparently suggesting that there are mutterings coming from the David Davis camp!

Meanwhile, on the vexed subject of electoral reform, an interesting post on Tory MP Douglas Carswell's blog, indicating why he might now favour it. Carswell is an individualist, maverick MP who nonetheless has the ability to wield considerable influence as a sharp minded policy thinker; he it was who initiated the historic downfall of Speaker Martin, and he has also writeen - with MEP Dan Hannan - "The Plan", a hugely influential policy document within Tory circles.