What is a hung parliament?
A hung parliament is when no single political party wins a majority of seats in the House of Commons, subsequenting in no overall control.
This means a party may have the most seats, but it still doesn’t control the Commons, making passing legislation and pushing through daily politics innately difficult.
There is speculation this could happen in the UK’s next general election, if Labour, who are expected to gain the most votes, do not gain an overall majority.
To move forward with a hung parliament, coalitions can be formed, most recently seen in 2010 when the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats worked together.
A hung parliament can also result in something less formal, seen using a confidence and supply agreement which the Conservatives did with the Democratic Unionist Party in 2017.
The Liberal Democrats are an obvious possibility when arranging an agreement in the wake of a hung parliament.
While not only being potentially hugely beneficial and necessary to Labour without a majority, it’s an opportunity to implement their electoral revival, and status as 3rd biggest political party since their decline in 2015, alongside the rise of the SNP.
Ed Davey, leader of the Lib Dem’s has recently held the party conference in Bournemouth and explicitly ruled out electoral aid to the Conservatives, arguing his party could “play a critical role” in removing the Conservatives from power.
The party also resounds a lot of anti-Tory rhetoric, heightened by their demise after the 2010 coalition ended in 2015.
However, he has not demonstrated this attitude to Labour, when asked about formal or informal support.
Labour Leader Keir Starmer has equally not ruled out a deal with the Lib Dems, highlighting a very real presence of discussions over a hung parliament within the House of Commons, and political parties setting in motion preparations for alternative electoral outcomes.
It is difficult to answer what this would mean for Britain as the Liberal Democrats and Labour do not share many manifesto policies.
Although we know social care is at their forefront, alongside a historic demand for electoral reform with Davey being no different from his predecessors and advocating for proportional representation.
Equally, the Lib Dems will have greater leverage the more seats they win.
However, the issue with a coalition is that any two parties involved naturally have different stances on most issues, with different extents of agreement and opposition.
Although a hung parliament could be an opportunity for the Liberal Democrats to reclaim their position and stay present in the political limelight, it could equally be stagnant and impossible to get through any policies and manifesto promises.
Something that brought down Nick Clegg throughout his leadership with David Cameron in the most recent coalition in 2010.
For Britain, it is unclear what will happen. In the case of a hung parliament, the Liberal Democrats will most likely form a coalition with the Labour Party, however it will be Labour who will numerically have the most votes and seats in the Commons, thereby reducing scope for Lib Dem policies and legislation. Starmer may be minimised in his power, but realistically, this will be minimal, and the potential for Liberal Democrat propositions to be at the forefront of Britain, is unlikely.