By jumping into bed with the puny Lib Dems, Labour would trigger an undemocratic revolution in how we elect our politicians ...for ever

FOR THE moment, it is just a plan. But it could soon become reality – and permanently change the way British governments are elected. For this is the likely result if a coalition of centre and centre-Left parties is forged as part of a deal between Labour and the Liberal Democrats to try to exclude the Tories from power for ever.

The initial effect of such a deal could be to create a weak Labour government led by Sir Keir Starmer but at the constant beck and call of the Lib Dems and the Scottish National Party. The cost to our country would be enormous.

First, to sign up to the deal, the Lib Dems would almost certainly demand an irrevocable change to the electoral system.

And in return for their support, who can doubt Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon would demand a referendum to break up the UK for ever?

Sadly, this nightmarish prospect has been conjured up following the two recent by-elections – won by Labour and the Lib Dems after both parties co-operated to prevent the Tories holding the seats.

Neither party currently has a realistic chance of getting a Commons majority.

But together, they could put Sir Keir Starmer into No 10 and change the electoral system in an effort to ensure their coalition remained in government in perpetuity.

Both parties deny a deal might be struck but it has been reported that the Lib Dems have already named their price: a new proportional representation voting system imposed on the country without a referendum about what would be a major change to a structure which has worked well for decades.

The result would be a revolution in the way we choose our governments – but without so much as asking the public’s permission.

Supporters of the idea pretend this would be fairer and more democratic. I think it is outrageous.

It would mean secret horse-trading after every General Election, putting the highest bidder into Downing Street. The public would have no say in the outcome.

Make no mistake, this would create chaos for the country – and it would be a disaster for Labour.

While millions of former Labour voters are crying out for serious leadership that can earn the public’s trust, and for a party capable of winning elections, Sir Keir would stumble into power helped by all the minor parties.

Promises made in their separate manifestos and upon which voters had made their choice would inevitably be torn up as private deals were struck.

What’s more, fully aware this would happen, political parties could promise the Earth during election campaigns, confident that they could claim afterwards that they had been forced to sacrifice those pledges by their coalition partners. What would that do for trust in our political system?

Using their leverage, too, the minor parties would force their own policies on to the statute book.

The SNP would surely demand as many referendums as it took to break up the United Kingdom. We would be stuck in a protracted constitutional wrangle – a so-called ‘neverendum’ – and sooner or later, the Scottish people would have had enough and vote to become an independent nation.

The greatest country in the world would be torn apart.

Meanwhile, I believe that Prime Minister Starmer would be forced to rely on Labour’s hard Left to keep him in power. To be fair, he and most of his team are better than Jeremy Corbyn and the crazy communists who supported him.

No one could say that Sir Keir is an extremist, still less an antisemite. But he has not yet cleaned out the Labour Party and until he does, the public would worry about him being held hostage by a bunch of Trotskyites.

Many Labour MPs are sensible and moderate but there are enough on the hard Left to hold Sir Keir to ransom. Thirty-five are members of the Socialist Campaign Group. What bargains and concessions would Sir Keir have to offer to keep them onside?

Sir Keir may be a patriot but who thinks the hard Left would support military action to stand up for our values, fight Putin or defend our country’s interests?

I’m sure they wouldn’t stand up to the trade unions either. And what would happen about Brexit?

The SNP and the Lib Dems have never accepted the 2016 referendum result and they fought tooth and nail to prevent Brexit.

A Shadow Minister recently suggested that a Labour government could negotiate a closer deal or even rejoin the EU.

Increasingly, I believe that the public will become more aware of this undemocratic attempt to give Britain a permanent rag-bag coalition by stealth.

Whereas former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair had the confidence to plant his flag in the centre ground and used his position to govern for the country as a whole, Sir Keir would be reliant on the support of Labour’s hard Left.

Of course, this presents him with a paradox.

The more it looks like Sir Keir is in cahoots with other parties, the

The SNP would seek as many referendums as it took to break up the UK

It would mean secret horse-trading at elections. The public would have no say in the outcome

People are worried about the cost of living, not about trans rights

less likely it is that the public would vote for him.

Soon enough, the Conservatives would be running advertisements depicting Sir Keir in Nicola Sturgeon’s pocket.

Boosted by last month’s by-elections – where Labour beat the Conservatives in Wakefield while the Lib Dems ousted them in Tiverton and Honiton – many in both parties seem to be convinced that there is a majority in the country ready to stop another Tory government.

It’s a fact – and one that many Labour and Lib Dem activists might not like – that the United Kingdom is a ‘small-c’ conservative country.

People are currently concerned about the rising cost of living, not about trendy obsessions and bizarre debates about trans rights, whether only women have a cervix or if men can get pregnant.

Millions of former Labour voters want strong political leadership and big, bold statements which show that Sir Keir Starmer understands their concerns, can earn their trust and is capable of running the country.

But time is running out for the Labour leader. He has no chance of becoming Prime Minister if the ambition is to limp across the doorstep of No10, pushed into a weak and unstable coalition by the SNP and Lib Dems.

Ian Austin is the former Labour MP for Dudley North who now sits in the Lords as a non-affiliated peer.