“Woah, hold up there guys…work with Clegg? Not bloody likely.”

Ed Miliband today attempted to firmly close the lid on the Simon Hughes jack-in-a-box by saying that Hughes’ suggestion of a pact between the Liberal Democrats and Labour could only happen should Nick ‘do a Gordon’ and stand down first. 

After Hughes stuck his head out yet again in defence of the neglected left-wing of the Liberal establishment to raise the unlikely prospects of coalition vetos and Lib-Lab pacts, Ed quickly ran a mile shouting, “Given what he is supporting [spending cuts], I think it is pretty hard to go into coalition with him”. Whether this will bring about a Hughes/MIliband alliance is uncertain, but we strongly advise Ed against such a move.

Meanwhile, Ed Balls, ever the outrageous flirt, played it coy, only saying “whether Nick Clegg is today truly a Liberal Democrat, in a way that Liberal Democrats would recognise, I don’t know”. If, unlike me you give more than an eighth of a hoot what the man has to say on the economy, watch here. If not, you will undoubtedly find this more entertaining.