UK Conservatives plan more talks with Lib Dems

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Britain's Conservatives said they held "good discussions" with the smaller Liberal Democrats on Sunday but failed to conclude a deal to govern together, and planned further talks within 24 hours.David Cameron's Conservatives won the most seats in Thursday's parliamentary election but fell short of a majority and are seeking the support of Nick Clegg's third-placed Liberal Democrats, or Lib Dems, to end 13 years of Labour Party rule."We are agreed that a central part of any agreement that we make will be economic stability and the reduction of the public deficit," Conservative negotiator William Hague said after close to seven hours of talks with a team of Lib Dems.Hague said the sides would meet again within 24 hours and in the meantime would brief the party leaders, Cameron and Clegg. Emerging from the government building where the talks took place, Lib Dem spokesman Danny Alexander made almost identical comments.Prime Minister Gordon Brown, whose Labour came a distant second in the election, remains in office in a caretaker role. He stands ready to try for an alliance with the Liberal Democrats if they are unable to agree with the Conservatives.But Brown's position appeared precarious, with three of his own party's legislators calling on him to step down.The election was the first since 1974 to give no party overall control. It has come at a time when Britain's budget deficit is running at a peacetime record of more than 11 percent of national output, unnerving financial markets.Markets want to see a stable government emerge quickly and start aggressively cutting the deficit.A major stumbling block to a Conservative/Lib Dem deal could be electoral reform, a long-cherished ambition of the Lib Dems who would win far more seats if Britain switched from its winner-takes-all system to proportional representation.Opinion polls in Sunday's newspapers suggested most Britons favoured a more proportional system of voting, but the Conservatives are firmly opposed to such a change.The parties must overcome other differences on economic policy, defence, immigration and Britain's stance towards Europe, but they could find common ground on issues such as lower taxes for the poor, education and the environment.(Additional reporting by Avril Ormsby, Jodie Ginsberg and Paul Hoskins, writing by Estelle Shirbon, editing by Mark Trevelyan)

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