CentreForum's recent publication on Liberal Democrat-Conservative relationships continues to get press coverage - this time in an article by John Rentoul on Tory preparations for a potential hung parliament...

Read the article here, and find the publication here.

It's always interesting to see how a story develops as it is passed from commentator to commentator. This game, a kind of journalistic Chinese whispers, is even more interesting to follow when you have a hand in the initial story.

The CentreForum pamphlet, Lib Con was published last week and is one of the sources for Fraser Nelson's piece in this week's Spectator - 'Watch the Tories sidling up to the Lib Dems: the foundations for a post-election pact'

Mr Nelson has clearly been gauging reaction from the Conservative side to the ideas set out in Lib Con.  They make interesting reading - including the idea that:

'[Conservative] party strategists are already placing prospective policy measures into three categories. Those that could be implemented without any new legislation (such as welfare reform), those that would require Lib Dem support (education reform) and those that would only be possible with a working Commons majority (renegotiation of EU membership).'

When those close to Cameron decide what fits in those three categories - and how much they care about each - the Conservative negotiating position for the various post-election scenarios will be clearer.

The sister paper to Lib Con was Lib Lab, published in the autumn.  That didn't receive as much attention from the Labour-watchers as Lib Con has from those following the Conservatives.

That makes you wonder whether the work seemingly necessary work that Cameron and co are doing is being reciprocated in Labour ranks at all.

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.