Tories get the knives out to prevent Lib Dem vote
By politics.co.uk staff
David Cameron has called for a “decisive” Tory victory after Nick Clegg’s strong leaders’ debate performance boosted the chances of a hung parliament.
The Liberal Democrats’ strong showing means both Labour and the Conservatives are turning more attention to confronting the policies of Britain’s third party.
But today the Tories indicated a new approach: undermining the concept of a third party in British politics altogether.
“A hung parliament would be a bunch of politicians haggling, not deciding,” Mr Cameron said in a speech in Gloucester today.
“They’d be fighting for their own interests, not fighting for your interests.
“They wouldn’t be making long-term decisions for the country’s future, they’d be making short-term decisions for their own future,” he added.
“The way we’re going to get things done, the way we’re going to meet these tasks, is to have a decisive Conservative government.”
Both Mr Cameron and shadow business secretary Ken Clarke are seeking to make voters think twice about turning to the Lib Dems.
Mr Clarke said in an interview with the Times newspaper: “There would be a risk of another financial crisis if we had a hung parliament.”
He fears a hung parliament would see Britain’s AAA credit rating reduced. Decisions about the rating have effectively been deferred until after the general election.
“A downgrade is symbolic of what would really matter, which is a big surge in interest rates,” Mr Clarke added. “We scarcely get the benefit of the AAA rating now.”
