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- Election 2015: What happens if no one actually wins a majority? The answer: we could be doing it all again in July
Election 2015: What happens if no one actually wins a majority? The answer: we could be doing it all again in July
So, the polls are closed, and the counting is underway - but what if, when the dust is settled, none of the parties have actually won a majority of seats - 326 or more - in order to rule? When no single party can command a majority the parliament is said to be 'hung'. This is exactly what happened in 2010. There are three main possible outcomes if that is indeed the result of tonight's electionShould neither of the main parties win a majority they could settle on a straightforward arrangement with another party and form a coalition government similar to the one we've had in place since 2010. The polling numbers, however, suggest that a more complex coalition could be required. In the first instance David Cameron will remain in power as he attempts to put a majority together. If he can't then it will fall to Ed Miliband to attempt to form a government. The negotiations could go on at least until Monday 18th May when the new parliament sits for the first time.As Andrew Woodcock, political correspondent at PA says: "If no party wins an overall majority, which seems almost certain now, if there are no two parties that between them who can command a majority in the house it could be a coalition of three or four parties". The SNP, Plaid Cymru and even Ukip could be wooed by the major parties.A confidence and supply arrangement is where rather than offering the smaller parties a place in government the larger party will reach an agreement with them that they won't seek to bring down the government. The supply part relates to a vote on the finances essential to keeping the government running, and the confidence part means the smaller parties would not support a vote of no-confidence in the government.There is potentially a third option, which is a minority administration", Andrew Woodcock explains, whereby "either Tories or Labour attempt to get their agenda through the house on a vote by vote basis." However, a minority government is likely to be very unstable and could see the UK facing