Westminster Dealings 'Disastrous'

The UK is heading into an unstable political future if a pact is worked out for government today.

That's according to ex-Labour MP and former Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid.

He has warned a Lib/Lab coalition, in which Northern Ireland's MPs would play also a role, would be "disastrous" and "inherently unstable".

John Reid also claimed the possibility of a Lib Lab coalition represented mutually assured destruction for both parties.

"They would have to cobble together an alliance of sorts with Scottish nationalists and people from Northern Ireland; all of whom would demand that the price of their support was that they would not have the same cuts imposed upon them as the English would," he said.

"If we now decide that we're going to cock a snook at the electorate, or look that way, we will suffer most grievously in the future," Mr Reid added.

With 258 Labour MPs and 57 Lib Dems MPs, the two parties are still short of at least 11 MPs to form a majority government, opening the door for a "rainbow coalition" in which smaller regional parties could play a part.

The DUP has eight MPs at Westminster, the SDLP - Labour's sister party - has three and Alliance, which the Lib Dems urged people to vote for ahead of the election - has one.

Sinn Fein's five MPs do not seat at Westminster, while Lady Sylvia Hermon vowed to remain independent.

(BMcc/GK)