John Curtice: Influence of Lib Dems in hung parliament depends on staying ahead of Labour

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/john-curtice-influence-of-lib-dems-in-hung-parliament-depends-on-staying-ahead-of-labour-1954281.html

Summary:
Can Nick Clegg maintain the Liberal Democrats will win more than Labour for the first time since 1918? Or does he slip away leaving his party with a credible third place? The support of Lib Dem has slipped more evenly in second leader’s debate. The party’s average poll rating now stands at 29 per cent between the first and second leader’s debate. Despite their slippage, the Lib Dems are still ahead of Labour and still have a good chance of coming second in the popular votes. There are signs that the Hung Parliament may not be greeted with enthusiasm by many voters. A Hung Parliament would put the economic recovery at risk, while BPIX (The British polling Index) reported that 55 per cent believe it would result in weak government. Clegg is aware of these concerns and addressed that it might enable Gordon Brown to cling to power even though Labour came in third in votes. The Tories would still 52 seats short and would be compelled to come to some understanding with Lib Dem would feel encouraged to strike a hard bargain, including on electoral reform. If Lib Dem support were to slip behind Labour, their moral authority and political blow would be much weaker.

Evaluation:
In some countries, they have reached agreements with smaller parties that they will support the government if there is a vote in parliament aimed at bringing down the government and forcing an election. In a Hung Parliament, the current Prime Minister will remain in power until he or she resigns and may try to stay in government even if his or her party did not win the largest number of seats. The Labour Party will lose its absolute majority if they lose 24 seats and the Conservatives will gain an absolute majority if they gain 116 seats. Any result in between will result in a hung parliament. Nick Clegg, who is diminished and only able to secure relatively crumbs is making his way up to plenty of voter this year because he have the opportunity of any Liberal leader has had putting electoral reform on the political agenda.