Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Could Britain cope with a minority Coalition government?

For all the obsessing about whether Nick Clegg would prefer to be in government with the Tories or Labour after the next election, there is very little discussion of what happens if that just isn’t enough. On 8 May 2015 we could find ourselves with a parliament made up both of a largest party too small for a majority government and a third party too small to form a stable two-party coalition government.

If the Tories fail to gain seats, or lose a few, and the Lib Dems have a terrible night too, then they will still need MPs from another party to prop them up. So who do they turn to?

For last night’s Newsnight, I imagined what would happen if a coalition turned to Ukip for a confidence and supply arrangement – but one at a price.

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