23 February 2010

What is a hung parliament?

...and does it involve violence or capital punishment?

Well, the answer is neither of the above. So lets move on from that suggestion. My own belief - before checking the definition - was a system that encouraged the best bits from each of the parties involved and reduced the amount of party politics indulged in. It is brief and simplistic, but is, I think, a general impression of what can happen. This is counter-balanced with the many arguments of nothing getting achieved and party squabbles over political coalitions getting in the way. This is coupled with a constant assumption that the House of Commons is only credible and successful when governments rail road over the voting process with a huge majority, based sometimes, on the vagaries of the voting system itself.

Other options are outlined below:

Wikipedia

UK Parliament glossary
Polling prediction

This final report, in downloadable format, is from the House of Commons library and outlines all the previous cases of a hung parliament in the UK and some of the resolutions taken.

It is the best I managed to find online - and just shows the quality of resources available on our government records system - forgetting, obviously, the significant amount that is airbrushed or blatantly censored.


The BBC should be ashamed to accept the musings of an investment bank analyst for political predictions and critiques. They are hardly the most impartial judges in the world.

Look the private interest groups are getting restless at the thought that the British government might get a left-wing coalition to move the UK forward with public services and civic investment.

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