Lib Con
CentreForum today published 'Lib Con: can the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats co-operate'.
One of the authors, Mark Bell, has also written a summary for the Guardian's Comment is Free website ('Power of the Lib Dems'). You can read the whole report on the CentreForum website.
Peter Riddell also refers to the report in his article exploring the recent surge of interest around changing the voting system ('Preferential votes give Tories cause to consider poll reform')
Lib Con follows a previous CentreForum publication 'Lib Lab' published last autumn which is also available from the CentreForum site.
Re: LibCon
However, I don't think it has any serious prospect of occurring. The overall framework of British politics over the recent political past has been a Labour vs Tory one, and I don't see that reversing. Although I don't doubt there are some areas they could co-operate on, the cultures within the parties are miles apart.
My instinct is that both would rather be in opposition than taking a place as the junior partner in a coalition.
Re: Comments for 'Lib Con'
LabCon and ConLab are already found in local government. Look on the internet. Progress and ConservativeHome seem to have a lot more in common with one another than with the wilder wings of their parties. And there is a good body of rather reactionery voters who would give a first preference to Tory or Labour, a second preference to the other (or UKIP), but who would never vote for those soggy, wet LibDems.
Journalists do need to be reminded that "Who would you go into coalition with?" is a question that has to be asked of three parties; or four in Scotland and Wales.
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LibCon