Nobody. The general election has resulted in a hung parliament.
When BBC News went out to do their post-election vox pops, the public were understandably nervious about what might happen. They're uncertain about who is going to be their government at exactly the time they need strong leadership.
The Lib Dems couldn't live up to their expectations. They lost ground on their 2005 position, mainly because of some wild swings in a few seats, but they didn't look like making a significant breakthrough as the results started coming in.
Ironically they could be the the ones that gain the most from this uncertainty. They look to be entering into a confidence and supply pact with the Conservatives. Such an arrangement isn't a formal coalition, but an agreement to not vote against the government in votes of confidence (such as the Queen's Speech) and votes of supply (such as the budget), in return for concessions on certain policies. How long this arrangement could last is anyone's guess.
The Conservatives only require Lib Dems to abstain on these votes for this to work, as if you take out the Lib Dem seats then the Tories have enough votes to carry their motions. Labour don't have that luxury; they would require the Liberals to vote with them to carry the motions (and a few friendly votes from the smaller parties too).
Is this situation tenable, or are we to do this all again in the next twelve months?
JR
