(Updated 1st May)
There is no shortage of predictions about which parties will be able to team up for either a coalition or minority government after May 7th. But aside from who, there is the how. There is, supposedly, a process and timetable for all this to happen. Below is an outline of what happens if the result is, as predicted, a hung parliament.
Firstly, Simon Hix, Head of Department of Government at LSE, told me, based on current polling, what the parties will be hoping to do:
Whatever type of government is formed, the announcement of its plan (Queen's Speech), is set for May the 27th, twenty days after voting day.
In 2010, the Con-Lib Dem coalition was agreed upon on May the 11th, 5 days after the election.
Once the result is known, both the Conservatives and Labour will try to strike deals to form a coalition which has the confidence of the House of Commons. This could take days - or weeks, all depending on the complexity of the result.
All the time, the caretaker government remains in charge of the country.
If a coalition can't be reached, next up is a minority government. This works on a supply and demand deal, with smaller parties supporting a party with the most votes. Decisions are voted on issue by issue in return for its party policies being introduced. Minority governments are not considered to be strong and struggle to make any major changes.
Update: During the final round of TV Q&As with party leaders, Labour leader Ed Miliband said he would not enter a "coalition or deal" with the SNP.
Ed Miliband: "I am not going to have a Labour government if it means deals or coalitions with the Scottish National Party…it's not going to happen. I couldn't be clearer with you."
But with the potential complexity of any deal to form a government, even the official rules aren't clear, according to Akash Paun from the NewsStatesmen.
In fact, the UK could be without a new government for up to six weeks according to the Independent's Oliver Wright.
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