You're Nick Clegg during the coalition negotiations...

[You kip if you want to...]

Option 4.

It avoids uncertainty from the markets, your party still has their principles (and poll rating) intact and the Conservatives, who have "the moral right to govern", are in office.

[tpfkaw]

If I were Nick Clegg, I would certainly be removed as leader of the Lib Dems, if not expelled from the party altogether, and possibly placed in an insane asylum for my sudden and dramatic shift in beliefs and loss of knowledge of just about anything British.

[Franzl]

Acting in my political interest? Option 4.

Doing what's right? Option 1.

[feeblepizza]

Option 2 - the radical leftists like myself have a majority

[Хahar 🤔]

Option 4, but really he was screwed whatever he did. A confidence and supply agreement would probably result in a result like that of the Ontario NDP in 1987.

[Јas]

Option 2 wasn't practicable - there wasn't enough support within Labour for it to work. (But it was I think tactically correct to engage them in negotiations.) After discounting that, what's correct depends entirely on how negotiations go with the Tories. Though I think it's rather disappointing that a referendum on AV was the best they could do on electoral reform.

[You kip if you want to...]

Option 2 wasn't practicable - there wasn't enough support within Labour for it to work. (But it was I think tactically correct to engage them in negotiations.) After discounting that, what's correct depends entirely on how negotiations go with the Tories. Though I think it's rather disappointing that a referendum on AV was the best they could do on electoral reform.

^ I agree.

[Silent Hunter]

Option 4.

It avoids uncertainty from the markets, your party still has their principles (and poll rating) intact and the Conservatives, who have "the moral right to govern", are in office.

I agree; the Lib Dems now look like the FDP in Germany because of the Coalition.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Putting myself in Clegg's hypothetical shoes is not something that I could ever do, really. It's fairly clear, however, that he was bought for a remarkably small price; about all the LibDems appear to have got from the deal is seats in the Cabinet and a referendum that they will probably loose on a voting system that they don't actually support. I still don't understand why he didn't hold out for STV.

[YL]

As has been pointed out, option 2 was impossible, unfortunately.

The trouble with 3 and 4 is the prospect of another election soon after; the Tories were almost certainly the best placed financially if that happened.  Also 4 may have required them to support some fairly unpalatable things as part of the deal, without getting any of their own ideas in.  But I don't think they got enough to justify 1.

So, probably have some negotiations with a view to 1, but end up with 3 or 4 if the Tories don't offer more concessions than they actually did.

[minionofmidas]

Well, optimally: "Engineer a Conservative-Labour coalition without appearing to have had any hand in it, then attack it left, right & center relentlessly and become largest party in the Spring 2012 General Election."

Failing that, either a relatively stable toleration or a relatively unstable coalition, if that makes sense. Basically, trying to avoid *both* being seen as undependable and an instability factor *and* being seen as a Tory appendage. It's a fine line to walk, but I don't see Clegg even noticing the general area of the map that the line is in.

[Citizen (The) Doctor]

Either option 4 or option 1.  Option 2 would not have worked and option 3 means new elections (which means Tory Majority).  No matter what Clegg did, he was screwed I guess...at least he's in power though he could've sold out for more than what they got....

[Bo]

Probably Option 4. It would have been his best move strategically.

[Dr. Cynic]

I would've formed a coalition with the SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru and SDLP. If Labour didn't want to join, then I'd go with option 4 and build up my chances for the next election. Then again if I were a LibDem, I'd probably want to dump Clegg and go back to someone like Charles Kennedy.

[The Dowager Mod]

#3

[doktorb]

Option 4 is dangerous.

Conservatives form minority
It doesn't work
It falls
Conservatives call snap election
Conservatives win majority administration
Budget is not as fair as we LibDems made it currently
Social Policy is not as fair as we LibDems made it currently

What we have isn't perfect. It's far better than what could have happened.