It is quite extraordinary that the first past the post system delivered a PR outcome.

Yes – lots of emails against coalition with the Tories. Yes – lots of emails supporting coalition.

I could never have imagined a long week ago in politics – the outcome that has now arrived – coalition with the Tories.

I was very keen on opening up talks with Labour as, like many others, I had a long cherished vision of a realignment of the left of politics and a progressive alliance. Those talks were opened on that request.

Given most people will now have seen the events unfurl – it became clear that Labour either didn’t wish to realign with us or were not capable of doing so – even though Gordon Brown stepped aside to make it possible. To all those who are angry about a coalition with the Conservative – why not email Labour to ask why they didn’t want to offer a viable alternative?

A huge disappointment – leaving on the table the Conservative offer. In policy terms the offer is just about as good as it could be – short of PR! Sadly – that was not achievable with either of the other parties.

But if you believe in PR – then it is about working with other parties. No – not in my wildest dreams (or nightmares) did I ever think this would be the end game. But it is.

There is a spirit of hope and cooperation – and yes – compromise on both sides. To those who hate this outcome – perhaps some comfort in having LibDems in coalition to temper any worst fears.

This is uncharted territory – and all I can say is that if low earners are taken out of income tax, our children in Haringey get fair funding, we move to a sustainable green economy and politics is reformed – then that is a deal worth doing.

And meanwhile, whatever the challenges and dangers we encounter in order to  gain these measures and a stable government to hold the country safe as we pursue recovery – they are challenges that we must meet.

I watched the comings and goings of the negotiating teams yesterday – like everyone else. Not much given away in terms of what the real substance and/or sticking points of any arrangement with the Conservatives might be.

Outside of the evident desire on all sides to make sure the markets don’t take fright I spent the day wondering how we, Liberal Democrats, would resolve a dilemma which sees us pretty much between the devil and the deep blue sea.

There is no question in my mind that Nick Clegg was right during the election to say that the party with the greatest number of votes and seats would have the right to try and form a government first. Respect for democracy must come first otherwise it would make a mockery of the election. But how to square a circle on which so much depends will not be easy.

Whilst narrow party interest cannot hold sway over national interest – it is clear to me that changing the electoral system is in the national interest too. When a country manages to deliver a hung parliament under a first past the post system – that is a cry from the heart for a democracy where votes count.

Labour offer this carrot from their deathbed from a position of such weakness that the offer is virtually untenable. If they had not been so blown away with their success in ’97 – that would have been the right moment in history to change politics for good. But with a huge majority – their heads grew so big they forgot about progressive politics – and now we are where we are.

Labour lost the election. The Conservatives didn’t win it outright. And Liberal Democrats’ burgeoning hopes of demonstrating that the brief upwelling of those who would vote Liberal Democrat under a different system were dashed as the establishment waters closed over our heads.

The only thing that is certain as I write – is that none of these decisions will be easy and there will be no perfect answer.

Off now to day of talks on what happens next. How best to deliver what is in the national interest together with changing politics for good!

Obviously, increasing my own majority here in Hornsey and Wood Green was a fantastic endorsement of my five years as the MP – but am so sad that because the elections were on the same day – we couldn’t take the council against the Labour block vote – yet.

If the elections had been on different days – I think we might well have won the Council.

Anyway – just leaving for all day talks with colleagues and Nick Clegg – which will be followed by a meeting of the Federal Executive.

Which of the dangerous liaisons or none is put into play is the fight today!

A huge thank you to the fantastic LibDem team and the hundreds of local people who helped us to our great result.

And to the people of Hornsey & Wood Green who warmed my heart with their support for me. I will continue to fight for local people. That is my mission.

Excited and nervous is me today.

Excited because this looks like an election of a lifetime both nationally – where we can completely overturn the existing political establishment – and locally – where 40 years of Labour rule in Haringey Council is hanging by a thread.

Nervous because – quite rightly – this is the day you can sack me from my job or give me another term of office. When it comes down to it, I get no more say than anyone else – we all have just the one vote on the general election ballot paper.

I blogged yesterday details of how you vote, when you vote and so on. If you’re still making your mind up, you can take a look at the Liberal Democrat national manifesto, our local one for the Haringey Council elections and watch my film:

So – the election is nearly upon us!

Main things to remember about voting:

• Polls are open 7am to 10pm.
• You don’t need your poll card to vote, but you must go and vote in the right (local) polling station. If you’re not sure where this is, contact Haringey Council or email me (with your address) on lynne@lynnefeatherstone.org
• Also contact me if you’d like a lift to the polling station and back home again.
• If you have a postal vote and not returned it yet, you can still either post it today (Wednesday) and the Royal Mail should return it in time – or it can be handed in at any polling station in Haringey on Thursday.
• Most people will have two ballot papers: one for the general election where you can vote for ONE candidate and one for Haringey Council where you can vote for THREE candidates. If you are an EU citizen living here, you can vote for Haringey Council but not in the general election.
• In case of a medical emergency, you can get a proxy vote (i.e. get someone to vote on your behalf) until 5pm on Thursday – so if this situation applies contact Haringey Council ASAP – 020 8489 0000.

And if you’ve never voted before – don’t worry, it’s quick and easy – and important! There are rarely queues of much length, there are staff on hand to explain what to do – and there are even special indelible pencils in the polling booths so you don’t even need to bring a pen with you!

Finally, when you go to vote you may well see ‘tellers’ from the Liberal Democrats and other parties outside the polling station. These volunteers ask people who are voting who they are (but not which way they are voting). This is so that when we go round reminding people to vote or offering them lifts to the polling station we can skip past people who have already voted and not bother them again.

So – what is it that will make your mind up? When the people of Britain finally met the Liberal Democrats in the form of Nick Clegg in that first debate – the welling up of hope gave us all that feeling of what might be possible.

The establishment roar of rage that followed was a horrific to behold on the front pages of the right wing press. Now we have a chance, a once in a lifetime opportunity, to do something different and to change – otherwise the establishment waters will close over our heads and this opportunity to have a different and better sort of way of doing things will be lost.

It’s a brave new world – and it’s up to you!

(Also on YouTube here.)

The blogger Anna Racoon has invited a range of people to put out the case for their own party. Here’s my contribution:

Dear Anna Racoon

I didn’t think someone like me could be a politician. I am second generation immigrant and came from a family with very few books where we were just expected to get out into the world and earn a living. So I was a really late entrant into politics – only joining the party at the advanced age of 39. However, all my worldly experience as a designer, businesswoman and ace nagger meant ‘have mouth will travel’. I overturned a 26,000+ Labour majority over two elections to win Hornsey & Wood Green in 2005.

One of the many reasons I got into politics was very pragmatic. I couldn’t bear the dreadful way the local Labour Council behaved towards local people. They were arrogant and incompetent – not a great combination. There was a parking row in my street between two neighbours. The Council’s answer was to come and want to paint double yellow lines down both sides of this very short cul-de-sac making life hideous for the eight or so homes without off street parking (I had off street parking myself). It was ludicrous to remove parking in a cul-de-sac, but they didn’t ask anyone – just appeared with the paint van. I stopped them, formed a Residents’ Association – and that was the very way things began for me in politics.

Truth be told, you will find that sort of pragmatic motivation amongst people in many political parties. What makes me not just in politics – but a liberal – and a Liberal Democrat – is a belief in liberalism, in freedom and in fairness.

At the current moment in time – with the country just coming out of a dreadful recession – that in particular means working for a fairer tax system and an economy that delivers the stability and prosperity which gives people real choices and control in their lives.

The Liberal Democrats are the most economically credible of all the parties and I suspect that most people would want Vince Cable at this country’s economic helm.

Vince warned against the debt bubble that would burst. We were the first to say that we would need to save Northern Rock and nationalise those banks. The deficit must be paid off as swiftly as is possible without choking off the green shoots of recovery – and our priorities must be about creating a sustainable economy and jobs.

Our general election campaign is based on four main points:

1 Fair Taxation: Our plan would mean the first £10,000 you earn would be free of income tax. Currently those who earn the least pay proportionally the most tax. How are people ever to get going if they are pushed further and further into poverty and debt? And it’s patently not fair or right. We would pay for this by taxing income and capital at the same rate, phasing out special pension subsidies for highest rate earners, switching tax from income to pollution, and introducing a mansion tax on the value of homes over £2 million.

People aren’t spending and the banks aren’t lending. So alongside our fairer tax policies – we also need a sustainable economy less dependent on one square mile in the City. We would break up the banks so that those that want to gamble – the casino banks – are separated out from the core, less exciting but vital day-to-day traditional banking of taking savings, keeping them safe and lending to local business and local people.

2 A fair start for all our children: We will cut class sizes and provide more one-to-one tuition to children by introducing a new “pupil premium” in our primary schools. This would cost £2.5billion extra each year – one of our very few spending commitments. It will enable schools, if they choose to use the money this way – to rival the level of class size in the private sector – and what a difference that would make.

It’s a big commitment – but education is the key to giving people a fair start in life and a chance to make their own way in life as they wish, rather than shaped by the chance of where they were born and where they went to school.

3 A fair and sustainable economy that creates jobs: We will create tens of thousands of new jobs in public transport, a national programme of home insulation and new social housing. It’s both green – and about the key issue of jobs. We will be honest about where savings must be made to balance the books, which is why we’ve identified big, expensive projects such as I.D. cards that will be scrapped as the first step towards balancing the books. Of the savings we make, two-thirds will go to cutting the deficit and one-third towards our spending commitments (such as the pupil premium).

4 Fair, clean and local politics: We will introduce a fair voting system, ensure MPs can be sacked by their constituents if misbehaved, return powers to local communities and we will stop tax avoiders from standing for parliament, sitting in the House of Lords or donating to political parties. It’s not rocket science – it just needs political commitment!

Anna – to get a sense of us – look at our track record. We seem to be in tune with what people feel. Think about our stance on Iraq, civil liberties, political reform, the environment, fair taxes, the excesses of the City of London and the rights of Ghurkha veterans – just to name a few.

It’s all about peoples’ lives and fairness – not telling people what to do but giving them the chances to make their own choices – the very reasons for which I went into politics in the first place.

Kind regards

Lynne Featherstone,

Liberal Democrat Candidate for Hornsey and Wood Green.

Obviously – with Nick Clegg’s helpful contribution in the Leader Debates – the campaign trail has been very exciting with lots of people coming up and talking politics, smiling waving and saying they are going to vote Liberal Democrat.

Through my inbox too come a whole host of kind messages of goodwill and support – so here’s a couple of examples of how kind and wonderful people can be.

From a local parent (I’ve blanked the name for privacy for the son)

‘My son, XXXXXX, is 14. You came to Fortismere school and talked to all the kids about the Lib Dems. XXXXX got really enthusiastic and excited about politics! He really liked what you said about kids issues, and wishes he could vote.  He has watched every debate, and has been talking politics and issues with us and has even talked about becoming a politician! Amazing.. he even calls Nick Clegg a goon. (Trust me, a goon is a good thing.) ‘

And this next one – an email from a life-long Labour supporter! Mr Shuel was happy for me to publish his name.

Dear Lynne Featherstone,

At the last election, I voted for you because I was in effect voting against
Tony Blair. Because the politics of ones parents tend to rub off on their
children and my father was a committed Socialist, his politics rubbed off on
me. I might add that I am now 73 so it’s been a long love affair. Nothing
would ever persuade me to vote Conservative but I loathed Tony Blair and
all that he stood for – so I voted for you.

I have not regretted it for one moment. You have been an ideal Member of
Parliament. I have been filled with respect for the way in which you have
conducted yourself right from the word go. You responded to my worries about
The Digital Economy Bill when many of my fellow worriers got nothing from
their MPs. You keep us informed. You are what we need.

I was however initially torn this time around. The idea of a Conservative
government doesn’t bear thinking about and I felt that in order to ensure
the Conservative candidate for Hornsey and Wood Green was kept out I should
perhaps return to my Socialist roots. On intelligent reflection this was
clearly absurd reasoning . With an MP such as you have proved yourself to
be, I would rather have you around than anyone else.

After listening to endless electioneering, I find myself increasingly filled
with admiration for the Liberals. I wish you and your entire party well and
find that for the first time for years, I really care what happens to the
Liberal Party and will contentedly vote for you because of you, your leader
and his cohorts and not because I loathe the other party leaders.

Yours very sincerely
Sal Shuel