What sort of welcome would Hague get from the LDs?
Should he speak at the September conference?
There was a suggestion six weeks ago that David Cameron and Nick Clegg should speak at each other’s autumn conferences, That seems to have been put to one side.
Instead we have a report in the coalition – loving Daily Mail that the foreign secretary William Hague is being lined up to speak.
The idea, apparently is that he should make a witty speech – A source is quoted as saying: ‘It is potentially a rather tense occasion that could be difficult to handle. But William is brilliant at piercing that sort of tension with humour.’
What the veracity of the Mail story is I don’t know but I think that this is quite a good idea given the enormity for both parties of the creation of the coalition. It would seem odd if there was absolutely no presence.
My guess is that Hague would focus on those areas and themes where the parties are in agreement. You could expect him to mock Labour’s attempt to block the bill that seeks to enact their manifest commitment on voting reform and to pick on Labour’s desire to keep the size of parliamentary constituencies unequal.
His contribution, though needs to be carefully managed and it probably won’t be trailed in advance.