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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Brown offered Ashdown Cabinet job | Brown offered Ashdown Cabinet job |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Prime Minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown offered former Lib Dem leader Lord Ashdown the Cabinet post of Northern Ireland secretary, the BBC has learned. | Prime Minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown offered former Lib Dem leader Lord Ashdown the Cabinet post of Northern Ireland secretary, the BBC has learned. |
| Lord Ashdown said the offer was made on Wednesday - after Lib Dem Leader Sir Menzies Campbell said no member of his party would join Mr Brown's government. | Lord Ashdown said the offer was made on Wednesday - after Lib Dem Leader Sir Menzies Campbell said no member of his party would join Mr Brown's government. |
| The peer said he could not have considered taking a Cabinet post without Sir Menzies' approval. | The peer said he could not have considered taking a Cabinet post without Sir Menzies' approval. |
| And he said that he would not have been in favour of the proposal anyway. | And he said that he would not have been in favour of the proposal anyway. |
| BBC political editor Nick Robinson said a meeting on Monday between Sir Menzies and Mr Brown included discussions about junior roles for Lord Ashdown and another Lib Dem peer, Baroness Neuberger. | BBC political editor Nick Robinson said a meeting on Monday between Sir Menzies and Mr Brown included discussions about junior roles for Lord Ashdown and another Lib Dem peer, Baroness Neuberger. |
| 'Could not conceivably consider' | 'Could not conceivably consider' |
| He said the Lib Dem leader had not been aware that a direct offer of a Cabinet post was being made to Lord Ashdown. | He said the Lib Dem leader had not been aware that a direct offer of a Cabinet post was being made to Lord Ashdown. |
| It would have been unprecedented in modern times for a government with a clear majority, as Labour has, to give a Cabinet job to a member of other parties. | It would have been unprecedented in modern times for a government with a clear majority, as Labour has, to give a Cabinet job to a member of other parties. |
| Education Secretary Alan Johnson, frontrunner to be Labour's next deputy leader, told the BBC he did not think Lib Dems would sit in Cabinet for another 100 years. | Education Secretary Alan Johnson, frontrunner to be Labour's next deputy leader, told the BBC he did not think Lib Dems would sit in Cabinet for another 100 years. |
| However he said Lord Ashdown had done a good job in Bosnia and "whether there is a specific job for him to do in government is another matter". | However he said Lord Ashdown had done a good job in Bosnia and "whether there is a specific job for him to do in government is another matter". |
| Sir Menzies had ruled out any Lib Dem serving in a Brown Cabinet after Wednesday's Guardian newspaper reported that Mr Brown was considering such an offer. | Sir Menzies had ruled out any Lib Dem serving in a Brown Cabinet after Wednesday's Guardian newspaper reported that Mr Brown was considering such an offer. |
| I told him that I could not conceivably consider such a position unless my leader told me that he thought it was a good idea and even if he did, I didn't Lord Ashdown | I told him that I could not conceivably consider such a position unless my leader told me that he thought it was a good idea and even if he did, I didn't Lord Ashdown |
| Lord Ashdown told Today that he had been offered the job by Mr Brown later on Wednesday. | Lord Ashdown told Today that he had been offered the job by Mr Brown later on Wednesday. |
| In a statement to the programme he said: "It is true that Mr Brown suggested... that I might take a position in the Cabinet. | In a statement to the programme he said: "It is true that Mr Brown suggested... that I might take a position in the Cabinet. |
| "I told him that I could not conceivably consider such a position unless my leader told me that he thought it was a good idea and even if he did, I didn't." | "I told him that I could not conceivably consider such a position unless my leader told me that he thought it was a good idea and even if he did, I didn't." |
| There has been long-running speculation that Lord Ashdown and Sir Menzies Campbell were close to joining Tony Blair's first Cabinet when he came to power in 1997. | There has been long-running speculation that Lord Ashdown and Sir Menzies Campbell were close to joining Tony Blair's first Cabinet when he came to power in 1997. |
| The idea of any seats in a Labour Cabinet being taken by any Lib Dem has always faced strong opposition among the faithful of both parties who are used to bitter political battles in local and national elections. | |
| Charles Kennedy, who succeeded Lord Ashdown as Lib Dem leader, swiftly distanced the party from any talk of coalition or deals with Labour. | |
| Lib Dem MP Phil Willis said he believed the offer was "mischief making" by Mr Brown. | |
| He said Sir Menzies had been right to rule out any Lib Dems taking jobs in a Brown Cabinet, saying they were "so fundamentally opposed to so many things the Labour Party is doing". |