The UK election has concluded in a hung parliament, the first in 36 years, with neither of the three primary parties having enough of a majority to form a government, in a situation that has both political pundits and electoral authorities scratching their heads.
David Cameron’s Conservative party, upon which the current Maldivian government’s economic policy is modelled, made substantial gains across the country, taking 305 seats, but fell short of 21 to reach a majority.
The ruling Labour government, headed by Gordon Brown, suffered a staggering loss of 91 seats but was not as scalded as many commentators had predicted, finishing on 258.
Both parties have now turned to the Liberal Democrats, headed by Nick Clegg, in the hopes of creating a coalition government stable enough to see off the opposition.
Given the widespread dissatisfaction with Labour over the expenses scandal, handling of the economic meltdown and its Middle East foreign policy, many commentators expected the Liberal Democrats to perform far better than they actually did among disgruntled Labour voters. The party took 57 seats, an overall loss of five on the previous election, but the result has effectively put Clegg in the position of kingmaker.
Both Brown and Cameron have already approached Clegg with offers of a coalition government, offering concessions around education, carbon cuts and tax reform, as well as an inquiry into electoral reform, the Liberal Democrat’s main point of contention.
On the surface the policies of the Liberal Democrats mesh far better with those than the ‘small government’ Conservative, however Clegg has already positioned the Liberal Democrats as Labour alternative, vilifying the party in an attempt to lure dissatisfied voters. A ‘ConDem’ coalition is far more likely, however Clegg’s key supporters are likely to regard such a move as a ‘pact with the devil’.
Major disagreements include standing on the EU, immigration, public spending cuts of £6 billion and defence – areas on which Cameron has said he will not budge.
If a deal cannot be reached, it is likely a second election will be held – a not unwelcome outcome for the many thousands of voters who complained they had been unable to vote before the closing time of 10pm because of long queues, mismanagement and capacity problems at polling booths.
The uncertainty over the country’s political future has caused shares to plummet along with the pound and the FTSE-100, which dropped 138 points.
Meanwhile, as per protocol, the Queen is waiting on the sidelines in Buckingham Palace for the moment she will invite one of the party leaders to form a government.
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