Voters demand to know what their plans are if no party wins majority
The Straits Times, 2 May 2015
The Straits Times, 2 May 2015
LONDON - A feisty audience grilled Britain's political leaders over what deals and compromises could be in store after a close election expected to produce a hung parliament next week.
The final leaders' television event before the May 7 vote saw Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, Labour Party leader Ed Miliband and Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg questioned by ordinary Britons in Leeds in northern England.
The BBC TV audience demanded that the leaders lay out their plans if no party won a majority, as polls suggest, pressing them on which manifesto promises were non-negotiable "red lines".
"I'm going to spend the next seven days flat out for victory, and if enough people watching this programme back at home back me, we can have that victory and have the whole manifesto rather than having it bartered away in a darkened room," Mr Cameron said on the programme on Thursday.
Holding a referendum on whether Britain should remain a member of the European Union would be his "red line" if he had to negotiate with other parties to form a government, he said.
"The British people really deserve a referendum on the EU," Mr Cameron said. "I would not lead a government that did not contain that pledge."
He insisted that the Labour Party could not be trusted to run Britain's economy, and brandished a letter left in the Treasury from the outgoing Labour government in 2010 reading: "I'm afraid there is no money. Kind regards - and good luck!"
Mr Miliband dismissed the letter as a "prop" and told the audience that he believed in a country which had "one rule for all, not one rule for the rich and powerful and another for everybody else". He also ruled out a deal with the Scottish National Party (SNP) in order to form a government - something its pro-independence leader has put on the table as the party looks set to take most of Scotland's seats.
Mr Miliband dismissed the letter as a "prop" and told the audience that he believed in a country which had "one rule for all, not one rule for the rich and powerful and another for everybody else". He also ruled out a deal with the Scottish National Party (SNP) in order to form a government - something its pro-independence leader has put on the table as the party looks set to take most of Scotland's seats.
"If it meant we weren't going to be in government not doing a coalition, not having a deal, then so be it," Mr Miliband said.
A snap Guardian/ICM poll showed that the most viewers - 44 per cent - thought Mr Cameron had done best in the event, followed by 38 per cent for Mr Miliband. Mr Clegg was third with 19 per cent.
Mr Clegg, who has been in coalition with the centre-right Conservatives since the previous election did not return a one-party majority in 2010, argued that his Liberal Democrats would be the best partner for either the Conservatives or Labour.
The BBC's Poll of Polls shows the Conservatives on 34 per cent support and Labour on 33 per cent, with seat calculators showing that neither is likely to win enough seats to rule alone.
The SNP is predicted to become the third-biggest party.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
What happens if there's no winner
HERE'S what will happen if neither of the two main parties wins a majority:
HERE'S what will happen if neither of the two main parties wins a majority:
- NEGOTIATIONS: The Conservatives and Labour will negotiate with smaller parties about teaming up. The talks could last two weeks or even longer, experts say, raising the prospect of instability in the financial markets due to the uncertainty.
- QUEEN'S SPEECH: The first big step for a new government is usually the Queen's Speech on May 27 when the Queen gives a speech written by the government outlining its legislative programme. Lawmakers debate the speech for several days.There is then a vote which is traditionally seen as a vote of confidence in the government.
If the new government loses, it and the new prime minister would typically be expected to resign.
- WILL IT LAST? Even if the new government survives the Queen's Speech, it is not necessarily out of danger. If a government loses a confidence vote, an alternative government must be formed within 14 days or another election is held.AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE