Time to drag the Queen into this

If this is what proportional representation means then bring it on. It has been a refreshing few days. Finally we get to see politicians having to sweat for their chance to achieve power. The idea that fringe views get tempered and policies are carefully thought through can only be a good thing.

But the Lib Dems have been trying to achieve their goal of proportional representation at almost any cost. It's now time to realise the game is up.

Yesterday (Monday 10 May), Gordon Brown stepped out of Downing Street to confound expectations (including Tinkety's) and announce he would step down - but only once a new government had been installed and his party had chosen a new leader at its leisure. His decision met a key condition of the Lib Dems to share power with Labour - that Gordon Brown was no longer Prime Minister.

It also dangled the tantalising prospect of PR in front of the Lib Dems. That is crack cocaine to a Liberal and they will debase themselves to almost any level of degradation and humiliation to achieve it. Unfortunately that's what we've now been witnessing as David Blunkett pointed out this morning.

Gordon Brown's move was immediately responded to by the Tories, who in the shape of William Hague offered (and apparently it's a final offer) a referendum on the alternative vote system. This appeared tempting but the sour taste doesn't take long to emerge. The Tories know the figures don't add up for the Lib-Labs on PR (not least because too many Labour MPs will not support reform) and they can sit tight while the realisation dawns on the Lib Dems.

In a system of AV, the winner is the first candidate to 50% - it's done by ranking candidates rather than choosing only one. This is not the same as the prize the Lib Dems are seeking - a referendum on proportional representation (ie a party list - the more votes, the more members of the list are elected). AV is criticised as being too similar to first-past-the-post, PR is not liked because it divorces the MP from the constituency.

The question now is whether or not the Tories will share power. These negotiations have been wonderful and illuminating but it's time for the Lib Dems to stop and let the Tories govern. They just have to work out if they want to be part of it.