Lib Dems open to Welsh coalition, Kirsty Williams says

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams said she would not rule out an assembly coalition - even with the Tories - despite the voters' backlash against its record at Westminster.

Speaking in Cardiff Bay, she said being free from "the shackles" of a UK coalition government has given her a "strong sense of liberation".

Ms Williams said she was "proud" of the Lib Dems' achievements in government.

She said coalition had been right for the country, but wrong for the party.

'100% satisfied'

The Lib Dems suffered badly in the general election in May, losing all but eight of their 56 seats, keeping just one in Wales as the Conservatives secured an overall majority.

The party faces a challenge to keep its five AMs at the 2016 assembly election.

Ms Williams said the Welsh Lib Dems would only work with another party to form a Welsh government if they were "100% satisfied with the agreement we secured".

She added that despite her views on Conservatism, she was not going to "rule out or rule in any opportunity".

"I have no overarching wish to pledge to the people of Wales before an election that they can only live under a Labour first minister," she said.

The Lib Dems were junior partners in a ruling coalition with Labour in Cardiff Bay from 2000 to 2003.

The party will name its new UK leader on Thursday, with Tim Farron and Norman Lamb bidding to succeed Nick Clegg.