THE TORIES have won – or been forced into – a coalition with the Lib Dems, but at least some among their ranks even muse about forming an eventual coalition with Labour, writes Clive Betts from the Assembly press gallery.

There are many shades of Tories, and Welsh leader Nick Bourne seems stuck on one of the weakest, or at least strangest of those wings – perhaps that on the outside-left.

For which British Tory could openly talk of a possible coalition with the party which hates you most of all …

But that is what Nick did to the press gallery.

Mr Bourne had of course been closely involved with the attempt to form a Plaid – Lib Dem – Tory coalition after the last Assembly election in 2007. It collapsed with the Lib Dems at high level in Wales refusing to agree. And when they came to their senses, the time had passed.

In advance of the signing of  the Westminster deal which eventually emerged, Mr Bourne was being very friendly to all and sundry. During the weekly party political briefings, Mr Bourne was brave enough to desist from utterly ridiculing the moves towards a multi-party Westminster coalition involving Labour, the Lib Dems and uncle Tom Cobbley.

Mr Bourne then continued musing to himself. Almost sotte voce.

He mentioned the unmentionable. Tories with Labour.

Admitting it was a “bit unlikely”, he added, “Never say never.”

Just like the grand alliances of Germany. Which uses a constitutional set-up basically penned for them by the British after the war.

A constitution which, with its reliance on a form of proportional representative-voting, bears a similarity to the system still in use in the Republic of Ireland, which had been written by Westminster for all of Ireland in 1914.

In Ireland, of course, almost anyone gets into bed with anyone.  Although admittedly links with the unacceptable former-gunmen of Sinn Fein have happened only as part of a – perhaps forlorn – bid to keep the six counties with the UK.