Now the Observer backs the Lib Dems and Will Hutton says Clegg should be Prime Minister

The Observer today has endorsed the Lib Dems saying

"The vital context for this election is the twin crises in our economy and our politics. On both issues most credit accrues to the Liberal Democrats. Their Treasury spokesman Vince Cable was prescient in warning of an unsustainable debt bubble; Nick Clegg pushed for greater openness about expenses long before the scandal erupted.

The Lib Dems have in recent years developed a habit of getting things right. They were first of the big three to embrace environmentalism, first to kick back against the assault on civil liberties, alone in opposing the Iraq war."

One of their most senior columnists has also said Nick Clegg should be PM in the event of a hung parliament.

"Will Clegg accept? It is the best and possibly only opportunity his party will have to change the voting system. To refuse would be to shy away from an historical opportunity. Would the country accept? The two parties together will constitute more than 55% of the popular vote and a majority in the House of Commons. It was what the electorate voted for and there is deep wisdom in democracies. To have anyone else leading the coalition would be illegitimate. Will the markets worry about weak coalition government and sell the pound? Not if the new government is clear and fast in setting out which extra taxes it will raise and what spending it will cut, even if it decides to be measured about the timing of their introduction."