Kenneth Clarke: Hung parliament will have 'appalling consequences'
TORY veteran Ken Clarke last night warned that a hung Parliament would be the Westminster equivalent of “fiddling while Rome burns”.
The Shadow Business Secretary feared the uncertainty of no party gaining overall control of the Commons could have “appalling consequences” for the Government debt crisis.
And he insisted his political instincts told him David Cameron would secure an overall majority in Thursday’s poll.
On the campaign trail in Bedford and Northampton yesterday, Kenneth Clarke said Britain needed a clear and decisive result from the General Election to produce a strong government to tackle “the worst economic crisis since the war”.
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He said: “I think the outside world would be appalled if the General Election produced a multi-party government.
“We have urgent business to get on with and we can’t have a ‘don’t know’ result. Fooling about with multi-party debate in what we call a hung Parliament will be the equivalent of fiddling while Rome burns. I think there’s still a slim chance we can get an overall majority.
“It is very difficult to read because the electoral geography is quite local and it is a complicated breakdown of voting which is taking place but my hunch is we’re still in with a chance of getting a parliamentary majority.”
Mr Clarke said of a possible hung Parliament: “What we’re plainly headed for would be a great deal of squabbling, with small parties given disproportionate influence, trying to manoeuvre advantages for themselves before they allow a Conservative government to get on with the job.
“To sit and listen to a Conservative would-be government trying to negotiate with the Scots about how much less the public spending cuts are going to be north of the border, or with the Liberals about various tedious kinds of electoral reform would, I think, be very tedious.”
He warned: “There would be really quite appalling consequences for this country if we are not able to produce a credible plan for dealing with the deficit and the debt. And that involves some very difficult decisions.”
