Editing Lib–Lab pact (section)

===Proposed coalition of 1997===
In the lead-up to the [[1997 United Kingdom general election|1997 general election]], a coalition government was discussed by [[Tony Blair]] and the Lib Dems, according to [[Paddy Ashdown]]'s ''The Ashdown Diaries''. Ashdown, a strong proponent of a Lib–Lab coalition, said that from Blair's point of view, in order to get the Conservatives out of power and because he wanted to move his party towards the [[New Labour]] ideal, a coalition would strengthen his majority in the likely event of a victory. To get the Liberal Democrats into his Cabinet, he allegedly agreed on their terms of [[electoral reform]]. Blair was still considering attempting to form a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats on the day of the general election, until the full scale of his Labour Party's majority became clear at 03:05 on the morning of 2 May 1997; ending eighteen years of Conservative rule.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Tony Blair story |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6506365.stm |first=Brian |last=Wheeler |publisher=BBC News |date=2007-05-10 |access-date=2007-05-14}}</ref> Encouraged by former [[Social Democratic Party (UK)|SDP]] leader [[Roy Jenkins]], Blair still considered bringing the Lib Dems into the Cabinet after his election victory, as he believed this would help to create a [[political realignment]] on the centre-left and usher in a period of left-wing unity, and only reneged after Deputy Prime Minister [[John Prescott]] threatened to resign over the issue in 1998.<ref>{{cite news |last=Watt |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Watt |date=23 October 2000 |title=Prescott dismisses coalition 'dreams' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2000/oct/23/uk.labour1 |access-date=7 February 2024 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>