Get used to the idea of Prime Minister Ed Miliband

Prime Minister Ed Miliband & Chancellor Ed Balls arriving in Downing St in 2015?

The failure of the Conservative party to stick to the coalition agreement to bring about Lords reform has ensured the Liberal Democrats will kill off the boundary changes that the Conservative party need to ensure they can win next time. The Conservatives trailing in all opinion polls are on course to lose the next election heavily on the constituency boundaries as they currently laid down.

If the boundaries were changed approximately fifty seats would be abolished a large number of them Labour including Ed Balls' seat of Morley and Outwood, Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham's seat of Leigh plus other senior Labour members. The Conservative seat of Bedfordshire Mid would also of been abolished but not many tears would of been shed for the loss to parliament of Nadine Dorries.

The Liberal Democrats were very clear that if Conservative rebels blocked Lords reform they would block the boundary changes. Not often you see a turkey vote for Christmas but by ensuring the boundaries remain unchanged all the rebels in marginal constituencies may well of won the battle with Nick Clegg over Lords reform but they've lost the war and extremely likely their own seats in the Commons too.

In June Conservative rebels had a choice, they could support the Lords reform bill and amend it under Prime Minister David Cameron or they could block it as they have done and after the next election sit on the opposition benches as the Labour government of Ed Miliband simply rams it through the Commons - with any Tory amendments heavily defeated.

The Labour party are as equally to blame for Lords reform failing by not supporting the programme motion but they had nothing to lose to see it fail now but without the boundary changes they had everything to gain from it being stopped. They put party advantage first and although it is a pretty shameful way to behave, they laid a trap for the Conservative rebels and they walked straight into it.

So in around two and half years as the current lot are to incompetent to turn things around we'll once again see; Ed Miliband, Ed Balls, Harriet Harman, Yvette Cooper, Andy Burnham, Emily Thornberry and the rest of them back in government and there are only one set of people who will be responsible - the ninety one Conservative rebels who opted to break the coalition agreement over House of Lords reform. 

As leading rebel Eleanor Laing (Con Epping Forest) said on the Daily Politics "every MP has a right to vote with their conscience" she is right just hope she respects the Liberal Democrat's right to vote with "their conscience" and block the boundary changes that would of lead to a majority Conservative government. Now it'll be a majority Labour government but so long as your conscience is clear hey Eleanor!