Nick Clegg: ‘Moral obligation’ to talk to largest party

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has insisted he has "a moral obligation" to speak with the largest party about trying to form a coalition after the May 7th election, as opinion polls show that voters are increasingly worried about the legitimacy of the next British administration.

So far, a majority of opinion polls suggest that the Conservatives are more likely to have the largest number of seats, but Labour will have more options about forming a coalition.

Facing a Conservative push to capture Liberal Democrat-held seats in the West Country, Mr Clegg has had to offer comfort to conservative-leaning voters that a vote for his party does not guarantee a Labour victory by default.

"Yes, I have a moral and – I think – a democratic obligation to listen to and to speak to, if they choose to talk to the Liberal Democrats, the party that has got the greatest mandate first, even if they haven't won outright," he told the BBC.

‘Clegg’s law’

The so-called “Clegg’s law” has no constitutional standing of any kind, but it echoes concerns being displayed by English voters, particularly, as the marathon election campaign heads into its final 10 days.

In a Comres/Newsnight poll, 55 per cent of those polled believe the leader of the party with the most seats should become prime minister, while just 34 per cent think it should be the one able to secure the numbers, by whatever means.

Nearly seven in 10 Conservative supporters polled held to that opinion; but it was shared too by 55 per cent of those who say they are currently planning to vote Labour – which could become significant if “the legitimacy question” looms ever larger as polling day approaches.

‘Enormous clout’

Three-quarters of Conservative supporters polled for the Comres/Newsnight poll said they are concerned about the Scottish National Party lending its support to a governing party, compared with just 44 per cent of Labour voters.

Meanwhile, the SNP leader, Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon, who now has the backing of 52 per cent of Scots if polls there are accurate, has insisted that SNP MPs will have "enormous clout" with a Labour minority administration.

Labour leader Ed Miliband has sought to put the SNP on the back foot, saying that no deals of any kind will be done with it – partly because Labour could lose votes on legislation without triggering a vote of no confidence that it would lose.

“Exercising influence in a parliament is not just about the Queen’s Speech [which sets out the government’s proposed legislative programme for the year]. It’s about how you exercise influence on an issue-by-issue, vote-by-vote basis,” Ms Sturgeon said.