Of course, David, there is another way of getting a strong government...

Yet again, the astonishing arrogance of our Conservative friends astounds me, as first David Cameron, and then Ken Clarke, try to terrify the British people into voting for Nurse.

First, Dave. Dave would like voters to believe that Britain needs a strong government. No, what Britain needs is good government - and he isn't offering that, just more of the same, the only big difference being that the guys in the ministerial limousines will be wearing blue ties and not red ones. Of course, if one party dominance is required, people could always opt to vote Liberal Democrat and, if enough people do so, Team Yellow get to form a government. If, for example, the result was Liberal Democrats 40%, Conservatives 28%, Labour 24%, there would be a Liberal Democrat administration (just).

Alright, it perhaps isn't very likely. Then again, there weren't a lot of people betting on Liberal Democrats reaching 30% in the polls two weeks ago. But it could happen, just as a whole range of other outcomes might. So, Dave is pretty silly to make the claims he does. Indeed, by seeming so determined to insult Liberal Democrats and to ridicule our platform, one might suggest that he isn't interested in a coalition if circumstances demanded it.

Ken Clarke, on the other hand, appears to have lost the plot altogether. The notion that the mere existence of a hung Parliament would lead to a hasty visit from the International Monetary Fund indicates that he's given up on the apparently fine products of British American Tobacco, and started smoking something rather more redolent of marigolds.

The IMF steps in if your economy is in trouble, Mr Clarke, not because you have an election result that doesn't result in a majority for one political party or another. This is quite a good thing, as I suspect that the IMF might be loathe to rush to Germany or the Netherlands after every election. A stable government, acting in an economically sensible way, will only attract the IMF's attention if something beyond its control goes wrong.

What you're implying, Ken, is that you would oppose a Liberal Democrat/Conservative coalition on the grounds that it would be bad for the country's economy. You may be right, if George Osborne was Chancellor of the Exchequer...