Ed Miliband would let Nick Clegg keep his job in Lib-Lab pact

Ed Miliband is drawing up a secret plan to allow Nick Clegg to remain Deputy Prime Minister in a new coalition between Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

Senior Labour figures have privately disclosed that the two party leaders’ offices are in regular contact and that Mr Miliband is determined not to repeat the “mistake” made by Gordon Brown in 2010 of failing to plan for sharing power.

While many Labour activists “hate” Mr Clegg, for enabling the Conservatives to enter government and ending 13 years of Labour rule, they may be forced to put up with him as the price for Mr Miliband getting into Downing Street, sources said.

The opinion polls show a narrow lead for Labour over the Conservatives and both sides privately concede it will be difficult to win a majority in May 2015.

One shadow Cabinet minister, who is close to Mr Miliband, said: “Our activists really hate Clegg. But if having him as Deputy Prime Minister was the price of getting Ed into Number 10 then they would have to stick it.”

Mr Miliband was part of Labour’s negotiating team during the failed talks between Gordon Brown and Mr Clegg after the 2010 election delivered a hung parliament.

For years, Mr Miliband is said to have refused to speak to Mr Clegg, although relations have thawed in recent times.

“The contact is there and the leaders' offices are now in touch,” a senior party figure said.

Some senior members of Mr Miliband’s team, including Lord Adonis, the former Cabinet minister, have been urging him privately to prepare for fresh coalition negotiations after the next election.

One shadow Cabinet minister added: “We're not making the same mistake as we did in 2010 when frankly we were arrogant towards the Lib Dems.

“We'd been in government for 13 years and here were the Lib Dems making demands – and we thought ‘who do they think they are?’”

Labour has identified 106 target seats to win in 2015. Party insiders insist that it is in a position to “bounce back” into power with a majority after just one term.

Polling suggests that the UK Independence Party will take enough votes from the Conservatives to deny David Cameron a majority and allow Labour to win enough key marginal seats to gain power.

Labour last week announced it had recruited David Axelrod, President Obama’s former strategist, to advise the party on next year’s general election campaign.

However, some of Mr Miliband’s colleagues fear that a majority remains unlikely.

One senior shadow Cabinet minister added that the biggest difficulty for the party would be winning seats in southern England, especially south of London.

“The Tories can win without the North, but Labour can’t win without doing better in the south,” the MP said. “A hung parliament, with Labour the largest party is the most likely result. The Tories being the largest party may be the next most likely outcome.”

A spokesman for Mr Miliband played down the idea that Mr Clegg could be offered a job in any coalition with Labour.

"The Liberal Democrats have been a prop, not a brake, on this government," he said.

"Ed Miliband has made it very clear that he would find it difficult to work with Nick Clegg. We are working all-out for a Labour majority government after the next election and we are not planning to share power with the Liberal Democrats, or anybody else."