PM hints at Lib Dem election pact

David Cameron left the door open yesterday for an anti-Labour electoral pact between the Conservative and Liberal Democrats at the next general election.

In a move that will alarm many Tory MPs and party activists, the Prime Minister said the Coalition parties would have a "shared record" to defend the election in 2015.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Nick Clegg in Downing Street, Mr Cameron said "the likelihood" was that the Coalition partners would fight as separate parties but refused to rule out an arrangement in which they tried to help each other win seats. The Prime Minister said: "The likelihood is we will fight the next election as separate parties. I hope, as I said before, the campaign will be more polite. If there's a TV debate, it won't exactly be two against one but... we will be defending a shared record and talking about some of the things we have achieved together."