Sir Ed Davey has made it clear that he will consider making a deal with Sir Keir Starmer. Photo: Getty/Finnbarr Webster
It was a long and difficult road back for the Liberal Democrats after their flirtation with David Cameron sent them into a decade of political exile.
Nevertheless, now the party that still wears the scars of the coalition government on his back, now seemed surprisingly eager to lash out again.
Sir Ed Davey, a veteran of 2010-2015, made it very clear that he was ready to bring his MPs to yet another parliamentary agreement, on this time with Labor.
But, as he has also made clear, he will only take the plunge a second time if he can get a high enough price from Sir Keir Starmer.
Top of his wish list will be electoral reform and, finally, the realization of his party's cherished dream of moving to proportional representation.
«Of course the Liberal Democrats need PR,» he told the BBC when asked if this would be one of his coalition's demands.
“Our current system is failing voters, it doesn't let voters control politics, it's wrong. I am determined to make our democracy more fair to the people and more representative.»
The Liberal Democrats' latest foray into power has been coalition formed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg in 2010. Photo: Reuters/ANDREW WINNING. come back for the promise of electoral reform.
This is exactly what Nick Clegg did in 2010, only to have voters choose in a referendum just a year later to keep the current first past the postal system when they were offered the choice of an «alternative vote» system.
Given this unfortunate experience, this time around Sir Ed is likely to demand that MPs get final approval for seismic changes in the way the UK is run.
Labor voted in favor of proportional representation at last year's conference. , but such a change would be highly unpopular with party MPs.
Another area in which the Liberal Democrat leader will press his claims — and here he may well push through an open door — is on Brexit.
His party vociferously advocated a second referendum in the run-up to the 2019 election but, remarkably, has not called for one since.
His position now is to forge closer ties with the EU, as Sir Keir promised, before rejoining the single market, which is ruled out by Labor.
The ultimate goal is «reunion with the EU.»
More In the long term, the Liberal Democrats make it clear in the «What we stand for» section of their website that the ultimate goal remains «eventually reunification with the EU».
In other areas, such as the National Health Service , environment and taxes, the two leaders have laid out similar policies, and it's easy to see how they will work together.
The talk will also add to the 'progressive pact' rumors; in the next election, when the parties stand apart in Tory target districts.
With the coalition still chasing them, it's possible that the Lib Dems might resist pressure to form a formal alliance with Sir Keir.
Instead, they could strike a deal of confidence and supply with the Labor leader, supporting his minority government in exchange for supporting their priority policy.
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