5:27pm UK, Saturday May 07, 2011
Business Secretary Vince Cable has described the Conservatives as "ruthless and calculating" after the country overwhelmingly voted against changing the electoral system.
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The senior Liberal Democrat said the coalition would become more "businesslike" in the wake of a bitter refendum campaign which saw the two governing parties on different sides of the argument.
In an interview, Mr Cable said: "Some of us never had many illusions about the Conservatives, but they have emerged as ruthless, calculating and thoroughly tribal, but that doesn't mean to say we can't work with them."
He also acknowledged the AV cause was "dead for the foreseeable future".
His remarks came after Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said losing the referendum had been a "bitter blow".
"In a democracy when you ask a question and you get an overwhelming answer, you just have to accept it and move on," he said.
In only the second nationwide referendum in the UK, the No campaign won with 67.9% of the vote (13m votes), beating the Yes camp who polled 32.1% (6.1m votes).
Provisional figures from the Electoral Commission suggested turnout was 41.8%.
Lib Dems wanted the country to vote yes, but Conservatives including the Prime Minister wanted to keep first-past-the-post.
Former Lib Dem leader Lord Ashdown accused Mr Cameron of "bloody stupidity" for failing to prevent personal attacks on Mr Clegg.
Joey Jones, Boulton & Co blog
And Lib Dem peer Baroness Tonge told Sky News the Prime Minister "behaved absolutely appallingly" by campaigning so hard against AV and his coalition partners.
"David Cameron, having promised in the coalition agreement that he wouldn't take part in the referendum campaign, did so and did it in a very personal way by attacking Nick Clegg." she said.
She added her party would fight harder against the Tories on areas of policy including the Health Secretary's controversial NHS reforms. "The game has changed," she said.
However, former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell told Sky News: "It is time for the name calling to stop."
He said the negative comments had mainly come from Mr Cable and Energy Secretary Chris Huhne, who he referred to as "two assertive personalities".
But he said it was now time to stop the exchanges and focus on securing economic stability and creating growth, the main reasons behind the coalition.
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The Lib Dems also suffered defeats in local elections across the country, losing 752 councillors in England and seeing their support north of the border pour away towards the Scottish National Party.
As a result of what he referred to as the "disastrous result", Tavish Scott, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrat Party, has resigned.
Alex Salmond's SNP celebrated an unexpectedly good result in Scotland, returning to Holyrood for a second term as First Minister and prompting Iain Gray to announce he would step down as the leader of Scottish Labour.
Labour gained 839 seats and 26 councils but were sorely disappointed by their performance in Scotland.
The Conservatives gained 94 seats - a surprise to many as they started with a high number of councillors and losses are often considered inevitable for any party in government.
Over the next few days, there will be intense scrutiny of what impact the results will have on the coalition government.
A Lib Dem party source told Sky News the relationship between the two parties would become more businesslike, with them determined the Government stick to the coalition agreement.
They are likely to be more bullish on other areas of constitutional reform, such as overhauling the House of Lords and party funding.
The source also suggested the blame for the defeat should lie with Labour leader Ed Miliband rather than Mr Clegg.
Boulton & Co blog
Mr Miliband backed the Yes campaign but allowed his MPs to make up their own minds, with most siding against alternative voting.
"I'm disappointed that we lost the AV referendum but I think the people have spoken very clearly on this issue and it is a verdict that I accept," he said when the result was announced.
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