GENERAL ELECTION: What a hung parliament would mean for Britain

In the event of a hung parliament on Friday, the following experts are available to speak to the media about the constitutional and political implications on Britain.

Professor Colin Talbot, Professor of Government at The University of Manchester:  “With the election looking like it will result in a hung parliament, with a very small difference between the two main parties and no two-party deal that would command a majority of the those parties' members, we are entering unknown territory.

"The Fixed Term Parliaments Act further complicates matters as the old conventions about ‘who can command a majority of the House’ are now very doubtful in their operation. The FTP Act could enable a minority Labour government to keep itself in power for the full five years if it played its hand well. The minority SNP government in Scotland 2007-2011, rather ironically, shows how this could happen at Westminster.”

Joe Tomlinson, lecturer in constitutional law reform at The University of Manchester: "A hung parliament would put us in a position where there are few clear constitutional answers on many of the big questions e.g. how long should David Cameron remain as Prime Minister if he has not commanded a majority?

“According to the Cabinet Manual, David Cameron should remain in No. 10 until the time when a new government is formed. Whether this is a mere expectation or whether he is obliged to stay in situ is not clear.

“The party with the most votes has no constitutional priority to govern or to try to form a government first. Nick Clegg takes the view that the party with the most votes ought to be given such priority but the issue actually hinges on which leader can, or looks most likely to be able to, command a majority.

“Coalitions have been rare in the UK and how they should form very much remains a developing area of constitutional law."

Notes for editors

To arrange an interview:

Joe Tomlinson: 07539 862039, joseph.tomlinson@manchester.ac.uk, @JoePTomlinson
Professor Colin Talbot: 07971 674620, colin.talbot@manchester.ac.uk, @ColinRTalbot

Prof Talbot has published a series of blogs on who governs Britain beyond May 7. They can be found here.

For more from The University of Manchester experts on General Election 2015, follow @UoMNews, @UoMPolicy and @BESResearch. Use #BESfactcheck for regular updates from the British Election Study through election night.

Further media enquiries and to arrange interviews with other members of our General Election Media Experts Group:

Deborah Linton
Media Relations Officer
Faculty of Humanities
The University of Manchester
07789 948 783
deborah.linton@manchester.ac.uk

Aeron Haworth
Senior Media Relations Officer
The University of Manchester
0161 275 8387,  07717 881563
aeron.haworth@manchester.ac.uk