By Bagehot
EVEN hardened Westminster types seem taken aback by the ferocity of the language flying between the Liberal Democrats and their Conservative coalition partners in the last few days, as the days count down to May 5th, when the Lib Dems face a meltdown in local elections, elections to the devolved regions, and the abstruse-but-important national referendum on whether to change the voting rules for general elections to the alternative vote (AV).
