Tory backbenchers ‘spoiling for a fight’ with Lib Dem partners

Tory backbenchers are not making the soothing noises you might expect after a sun-drenched Easter break. They’re certainly not sounding very warm towards their Coalition partners. Tories I caught up with in the last couple of days sound like they are spoiling for a fight with their Lib Dem coalition partners. They’re fed up with the AV referendum, especially angry with Chris Huhne for threatening to sue a Tory Cabinet minister and determined to obstruct anything that looks like compensatory “sweeties” being doled out to Nick Clegg to ease the pain of local election results and a disappointing AV vote.

Nick Clegg is clearly feeling wounded by the tactics of the Tory-funded “No to AV” campaign. He’s had lots of feedback from Lib Dem activists who were angered when they got their copy of the nationally distributed “No” leaflet that attacks Mr Clegg for backing Coalition policies. It “crossed a line” the DPM is said to feel.

The “sweety” of choice most talked about amongst some Lib Dems I’ve spoken to is House of Lords reform. They’d love to light another constitutional flame just as, perhaps, the voters snuff out the electoral reform flame for a generation. Expect some good, old-fashioned, Lloyd-Georgian rhetoric when Nick Clegg lights the reform touchpaper in May with the White Paper.

Nick Clegg is said to be fully expecting the Lords reform to face a sticky time in Parliament. Many Tory MPs and peers are hoping that they can way surpass his worst expectations. One Tory backbencher said that Nick Clegg’s Lords reforms will prove to be “one of those bills that’s just too good to be an Act.” One backbencher suggested No. 10 is looking forward to watching as its “rottweiler tendency” backbenchers get their teeth into the bill and keep themslves busy preventing it from ever being enacted. I wonder if Nick Clegg would consider that to be “crossing a line.”