MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Hung parliament and delicate coalition knitting forecasted for UK Thursday vote
“It's the start of a week when Britain will decide its future. By Friday you'll either have Ed Miliband or me as your prime minister,” Cameron said. 
“The Liberal Democrats are now the only guarantors of stability in British politics today,” Clegg said on the campaign trail. 
Miliband received a major boost when comedian and revolutionary activist Russell Brand dropped his anti-voting stance and endorsed Labor 
The latest BBC poll gave Conservatives 34%; Labor 33%; the UK Independence Party 14%; the Liberal Democrats, 8%; the Greens 5% and the others, 6%. The Conservatives and Labor on Monday launched their final push to woo voters ahead of Britain's general election this week, as potential kingmaker parties made their pitch for power.
Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron and Labor opposition leader Ed Miliband kicked off the final three days of campaigning with stark messages to voters about the choice before them.
With polls showing the two main parties neck-and-neck and unlikely to win a majority in Thursday's vote, power will likely hinge on the performance of smaller parties such as the Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Liberal Democrats.
“It's the start of a week when Britain will decide its future. By Friday you'll either have Ed Miliband or me as your prime minister,” Cameron said. “Your vote can and will make a difference. It's that's close.”
He told voters: “We have got one big argument about the economy, about leadership, about security, that we guarantee -- and about the massive risk there would be of an Ed Miliband government propped up by the SNP.”
Miliband said the election was a “clash of two visions” about wages, health and young people. He tried to hang the remaining election battle on contrasting plans for the state-funded National Health Service.
“In the final few days of this general election, the future of the NHS is at risk in the way it hasn't been for a generation,” he said.
Miliband received a major boost when comedian and revolutionary activist Russell Brand dropped his anti-voting stance and endorsed Labor in a tweet to his 9.6 million followers. Following his interview with Miliband last week, Brand said he had become convinced Miliband would allow the building of “community-led activism”.
“I think this bloke will listen to us,” Brand told his followers in a YouTube video from his bed.
Labor also received backing on the campaign trail from celebrity chef Delia Smith and cross-dressing actor-comedian Eddie Izzard.
If Thursday's vote results in a hung parliament, it could trigger days, if not weeks, of tricky negotiations as political parties try to come up with an arrangement for forming a stable government. That could mean deals with smaller parties in exchange for agreeing to their manifesto pledges, or even coalition agreements.
The latest BBC poll of polls out Saturday gave the Conservatives 34% and Labor 33%; the populist UK Independence Party were on 14%; the Liberal Democrats, 8%; the Greens 5% and the others, 6%.
These figures would leave both major parties well short of winning the 326 seats needed for an absolute majority in parliament's lower House of Commons.
The Liberal Democrats, led by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, have spent the past five years as the junior partners to the Conservatives in the governing coalition. They are pitching themselves as mainstream potential coalition partners that would anchor either major party in the centre ground.
“The Liberal Democrats are now the only guarantors of stability in British politics today,” Clegg said on the campaign trail.
“Despite whatever David Cameron and Ed Miliband might say bravely in public, they all know that they're actually not going to win a majority. So the question is... who's going to be there alongside them?”
Miliband has ruled out striking a formal coalition or deal with the left-wing secessionist SNP, who opinion polls predict will form the third-biggest bloc, perhaps even winning all 59 Scottish seats. But he refused to say Monday if Labor could form a legitimate government with fewer seats than the Conservatives.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said the next government must reflect the whole of Britain if it is to be considered legitimate, and cannot “ignore” Scottish voices.
“Surely a test of legitimacy that should be applied... cannot simply be that it is the largest party in England,” she said.
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Read all commentsFor those struggling to understand the intricacies of British politics, allow me to explain that Russell Brand describes himself as a comedian, actor, radio host, author, and activist. He isn't. He's and egotistical nutjob.
May 05th, 2015 - 11:09 am 0Take a look at Miliband. His face says it all. He's a whiner. As with all Labour Socialist political shysters, he has a 'vision'. His vision depends on having loads of money. That's loads of money by British standards, not by the much lower argie loads of money. Attempting to raise taxes would get him lynched. So he's only left with borrowing. Unlike argieland, Britain can still borrow because it's trustworthy. But the British people don't want to borrow more. If he gets 'power', he could get lynched anyway.
Then there's Nick Clegg. Look at that boyish face. Hiding the fact that he's a treacherous liar. He got a Coalition Agreement and then set out to brazenly breach every part of it.
Nicola Sturgeon. What can one say? Not standing for any Parliamentary seat. So the 'real' voters can't kick her out. Look at what she says. “the next government must reflect the whole of Britain if it is to be considered legitimate, and cannot “ignore” Scottish voices.” This from the 'leader' of a party that only has 4% of support from 9% of the UK population. That's about 213,000 out of 64.5 million. That's 0.3%. That's her worth.
Take a look at the article's last sentence. “Surely a test of legitimacy that should be applied... cannot simply be that it is the largest party in England,” she said.
But 82% of the population of the UK is English! What better test of legitimacy could you have? Given their basis, the SNP should only be looking for 26 seats maximum, the Welsh Plaid Cymru for 12 and the other 79 seats shared out between independents and minor parties.
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May 05th, 2015 - 12:22 pm 0The voting public will give THEIR verdict. You only have ONE vote !
The SNP is now the third largest party in the UK with around 105,000 members. (The BBC et al don't like to mention that though)
May 05th, 2015 - 12:24 pm 0Personally I think they will be in a position to kick the Tories out of Downing Street by giving Labour support.
By the way, the Labour Party in Scotland are dead now. The SNP are going to wipe them out in Scotland.
I believe 11 seats are the most the SNP ever held at Westminster prior to indyref.
They are now set to claim fifty plus of the 59 Scottish seats in Westminster.
That is an ample chunk of 'clout' to settle the predicted 'hung parliament'.
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