A senior member of Britain's junior coalition partner on Saturday called the dominant Conservatives "ruthless, calculating and thoroughly tribal" after crushing defeats in a referendum and local elections.
Conservative and Liberal Democrat leaders promised to work together after the divisive referendum on electoral reform which pitted the coalition partners against each other and heightened strains within the deficit-cutting government.
But Business Secretary Vince Cable, a senior Liberal Democrat, illustrated the depth of feeling over the vote in an interview following the humiliating defeats.
"Some of us never had many illusions about the Conservatives anyway. They have emerged as ruthless, calculating and thoroughly tribal," he told the BBC.
Mr Cable made clear that the Lib Dems' relations with the Conservatives would be "businesslike" in future.
Voters overwhelmingly rejected electoral reform that the Lib Dems had championed in Thursday's referendum. The Lib Dems also suffered heavy losses in English local elections and in Scotland, leaving them bruised and raising fears the coalition parties would find it hard to work together in future.
Voters punished the Lib Dems for the austerity policies enacted by the coalition to cut Britain's record peace-time budget deficit, leading some commentators to call them "human shields" for the Conservatives, whose vote held up well.
Despite the Lib Dems' drubbing at the ballot box, there were no immediate signs of a challenge to Nick Clegg, the party's leader and deputy prime minister.
Prime Minister David Cameron said the referendum campaign had been "difficult" but pledged the coalition would continue until 2015, as planned.
The opposition Labour party has inched ahead in opinion polls, making a snap national election risky for both the Conservatives and the Lib Dems.
Mr Cable said his party would work with the Conservatives to resolve Britain's deep economic problems but left little doubt that the warm feelings that characterised the start of the year-old alliance had worn thin.
He said his party should be more aggressive in promoting its interests that include reforming the banking sector and the unelected upper chamber of parliament, and toning down the Conservatives' plans for a radical overhaul of health services.
Reuters