ConservativeHome are discussing the idea of a Lib Dem coalition. My two favourite quotes from the comments:

What's the fuss? I know the Lib Dems are a bit right wing compared to us these days, but it would still be a coalition of two largely like-minded left wing parties. Worth the sacrifices to keep out those right-wing sods in the Labour Party.

and the very perceptive

"LimpDum/Tory pact would be a disaster. Anyone who has done any campaigning at all must be aware of the libdem say one thing at this end of town, and say the other thing at that end of town"

I had a LibDem MP who was as helpful and hardworking as his Tory predecessor was lazy and supercilious. My personal experience of LibDem councillors has also been generally good.

Why should this be? I have a simple answer. Most LibDems do not anticipate the chance of becoming ministers quickly or peers slowly. In other words they don't join their party for reasons of out-and-out ambition. Some of them are actually motivated by notions of public service.

The other two parties, on the other hand, are peopled from top to bottom by the very worst type of careerist. They always have been. Can't blame that one on Dave.

During my many active years in the Tory Party I couldn't begin to count the number of wannabee candidates who started by saying "I'll fight the system and stand up for ordinary people" and who then, having joined the Tory group on the Council would change their tune to "We have to work with x and y . You can't fight them. You'd understand if you were on the council"

I might add that on their way down, the selfsame people would say to me "you were right all along"

It's not that LibDems are inherently better people than Tories and Socialists, but the nature of their party attracts fewer rotten careerist apples.

This is exactly the argument that I use every time we hear of the "Imminent Lib Dem MP defection" story - if our MPs were careerist they wouldn't have joined us in the first place!