But I do agree that PR is give and take on both sides. However, the SNP are the only party with a manifesto which includes a referendum proposal so in that they are in a minority.

A minority SNP government would commit them to always needing to win the vote on any proposal. This might be the best outcome rather than trying to form a coalition.

Really? Where has he done this? I’ve not seen him say it.

“The whole point about PR is that the government should be a compromise and a consensus.”

Which seems to be something the LibDems don’t realise considering the appeals of the SNP towards them.

Note:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23395318-details/SNP%20in%20coalition%20plea%20to%20Liberal%20Democrats/article.do

“In the course of these, (SNP leader) Alex Salmond made it clear there was scope for negotiation and scope for compromise.

“But the important thing now is that we get round the table.

“It may be that we can’t resolve our differences – but I think we both have a duty in the interest of the country to try.”

Although the British military establishment has never publicly acknowledged that King Leopold III and his army, by their prolonged resistance, saved the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in may 1940, the world famous military expert Liddell Hart saw no reason for such reticence.

In 1960, delivering a lecture to students and faculty at King College, Liddell Hart bluntly declared:

“The British army at Dunkirk was saved from destruction by King Leopold III of the Belgians”.

Captain Liddell Hart said that Sir Arthur Bryant’s claim that “the saving of the BEF was mainly due to Lord Alan Brooke” did not stand up to examination.

Hart went on to say: “The unfortunate Belgian Army absorbed the weight of the German frontal attack from the north. By the time the Belgian front had turned, the BEF had slipped out of reach and were nearing Dunkirk”.

Liddell Hart went further to say: “ If King Leopold III had left Belgium on May 25th , as his ministers and Churchill had urged him to do so, the Belgian army would have surrendered immediately, instead of fighting on until early morning of May 28th.

IF SO, THE BRITISH WOULD HAVE HAD VERY LITTLE CHANCE OF ESCAPING ENCIRCLEMENT, SO THAT IT COULD VERY REASONABLY BE CLAIMED THAT THEY WERE SAVED BY KING LEOPOLD III, WHO THEN WAS VIOLENTLY ABUSED BY BRITAIN AND FRANCE “

Dan Wybo

The decision was probably the most difficult in Churchill’s short career as PM, who was only put in power on May 10th. On May the 17th Churchill worried about the Axis armored columns racing towards the English Channel asked plans to be prepared for the potential evacuation of the BEF through Dunkirk. He considered this a precautionary move for a remote possibility. Churchill did not want to pull the BEF out of France because it would:
• have a major impact on the military campaign in the West swaying the balance towards the Axis forces,
• have catastrophic effect on already the wavering relationship with the Allied governments of France and Belgium,
• be a logistical nightmare, with not enough ships and time to complete such a large evacuation, civilian watercraft would have to be called upon in large numbers,
• become a potential murderous cauldron of hell with huge losses of troops on the unprotected beaches,
• require huge resources in military ships and fighters to provide cover and protection,
• be unlikely that Churchill could land another army on French solid for another 5 years.

On May the 19th Churchill met with the War Cabinet and determined there were two options for the BEF. The first was to move West and fight their way across but this would lose the channel ports, and further undermine the Belgian army. The second was to move back to the channel ports and evacuate. They decided on the former. However, on May the 20th Axis armored columns reached the channel. On the next heavily armored British Matilda tanks attacked Axis armored columns at the Battle of Arras. Although initial gains were good the lack of infantry numbers meant these gains could not be held as Axis forces quickly built up. Churchill’s hand was now forced. The action slowed down the inevitable encirclement of the BEF but gave it a small window to pull out towards Dunkirk.

On May 26th the British launched Operation Dynamo and Operation Ariel, evacuating Allied forces from the northern pocket in Belgium and Pas-de-Calais through Dunkirk. The British position was complicated by King Leopold III of Belgium’s plan to surrender the following day, which was postponed till the 28th.

It was a miracle that so many soldiers got out as initial intent was to recover around 45,000 men. The operations continued until June the 4th and a total of 338,226 troops were evacuated (220,000 British, 120,000 French, some Belgian and Dutch, and even some German prisoners of war) aboard more than 900 vessels.

In reality Dunkirk was a mitigated disaster as the British army lost 90% of their heavy equipment. Around 200 ships and 109 precious fighters were lost to. The Allies got away with virtually nothing but the shirts on their backs. More than 75,000 vehicles and trucks, 400 tanks, along with 500,000 tons of arms, ammunition and supplies were left behind (12,000 field guns, 1,250 anti-aircraft guns, 11,000 machine guns). All were sorely needed to defend the U.K. But Churchill and his old friend, Alfred Duff Cooper, at the Ministry of Information turned Dunkirk into a propaganda victory, particularly with the role of the “little boats.” So in reality there is very little to compare to today in terms of scale of evacuation.

In hindsight the BEF faced complete destruction and there was little choice in the matter. Churchill rode his luck as he lost support in the cabinet and in Parliament, and could have been ejected from power.