The live blog has now finished, but check back here from 9am for the latest updates. In the meantime, you'll find all the day's election results news here.

4.53pm: I'm heading home now. But first, here's an evening summary:

• Lib Dem MPs have allowed Clegg to continue talks with the Tories. This morning (see 9.34am) I said that we would not get a decision from the Lib Dems today about a possible coalition with the Tories, but that we might learn a bit more about where they are heading. In reality, we haven't learnt much. After the meeting Lib Dem MPs left the LGA HQ without talking to reporters. David Laws issued a statement saying the parliamentary party had "endorsed in full and completely" Clegg's approach. We don't know yet what they really think of it all. But - from Clegg's point of view - at least there has not been an open revolt. Lib Dem MPs could have come out of the meeting saying a deal with the Tories was unthinkable. They didn't. Clegg still has the support of his MPs.

• Clegg said that "reforming politics" was a priority for him. His meeting was interrupted by a rare occurence - a large, noisy demo in favour of electoral reform. Clegg has not said what his bottom line is in relation to electoral reform in talks with the Tories. Some journalist colleagues think he is wobbling on PR. But as far as I can tell everything he is saying now is consistent with what he said during the election.

• The Lib Dems said they wanted a resolution on a new government "as soon as possible". But they did not set a deadline. The Tories have now accepted that there will not be a deal before Monday.

I'm heading home now. But we will be blogging again tomorrow.

4.51pm: Plaid Cymru is supporting the SNP call for a progressive alliance in the Commons (see 2.47pm and 3.46pm). Plaid's leader, Ieuan Wyn Jones, has said this:



We will now do what is expected of us by the electorate and explore the potential of working with other parties in Westminster in order to achieve the best deal for Wales. A more balanced Parliament is a real opportunity to bring about a new approach to politics in the UK which would be welcomed throughout the nations of these islands.

Plaid Cymru and the SNP have appointed teams to discuss the mechanics of possible coalition negoations. That does not mean they have started talks with Labour. It just means they are making contingency plans.

4.42pm: I see that #dontdoitnick is trending on Twitter.

4.41pm: And here is the key extract from Nick Clegg's speech to the protesters earlier.



Take it from me, reforming politics is one of the reasons I went into politics. I campaigned for a better, more open, more transparent, new politics, every single day of this general election campaign. I genuinely believe it is in the national interest. It is in the interests of everybody in Great Britain for us to use this opportunity to usher in a new politics after the discredited politics of the past.

You could argue that this shows Clegg firming up his commitment to electoral reform. But he is strongly committed to this anyway, and this statement does not really take us any further. Sky is still suggesting that there is something significant about the fact that Clegg did not specifically mention PR. But Clegg did not actually use the term PR a great deal during the campaign. Normally he talked about political reform, or electoral reform.

For the record, the Lib Dem manifesto says the Lib Dems would "change politics and abolish safe seats by introducing a fair, more proportional voting system for MPs". It says the single transferable vote system is the party's "preferred" system.

4.29pm: Laws said that the Lib Dem shadow cabinet and the parliamentary party had both "endorsed in full and completely" the strategy laid out by Clegg.



We are determined to put the national interest before party advantage and to play our part in delivering the stable and good government that the people of this country are entitled to expect. We have heard what the Labour party and Gordon Brown have been saying over the last 24 hours but in line with the strategy that Nick Clegg has set out we will be continuing our talks with the Conservative party as the party with the largest number of seats and votes.

We understand the pressures that there are to make a decision on these matters as soon as possible and we are keen for an early conclusion of these issues. But people will also understand that we are keen to make sure that we make the right long-term decisions for the people of this country.

Asked if the Lib Dems would insist on a referendum on PR, Laws said these were matters to be discussed in the talks.

Asked about the prospect of a deal by Monday, Laws said he would not put an artificial timetable on the process. He said it was not entirely within the control of the Lib Dems, because "other parties" would have to make decisions too.

4.22pm: David Laws, the Lib Dem children's spokesman and a member of the team negotiating with the Tories, has just delivered a statement about this afternoon's meeting.

He said the parliamentary party had endorsed the approach taken by Nick Clegg and that the party was determined to put national interest before party advantage.

He said that the Lib Dems had heard what Gordon Brown had said. But the Lib Dems would continue with the strategy laid out by Clegg.

On timing, Laws said the Lib Dems were keen to reach an agreement "as quickly as possible". But they would not impose an artificial timetable on the process.

I'll post the precise quotes in a moment.

4.04pm: A Labour MP has called upon Gordon Brown to resign. This is from the BBC's live blog.



Labour MP John Mann, considered a credible figure, has become the first Labour member to speak against Gordon Brown, calling for him to step down as leader. He said he was an excellent chancellor, but a poor PM.

Mann isn't quite the first credible Labour figure to call for Brown's resignation since the election. Jane Kennedy, the former minister, said on Friday that Brown should quit. But Kennedy has stood down as an MP. Mann, who was re-elected as MP for Bassetlaw, is the first backbencher to speak out since polling day.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg addresses demonstrators from the Take Back Parliament campaign outside Local Government House in Smith Square, London Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

3.52pm: Nick Clegg has just come out to address the crowd. They applauded him wildly.

I never thought in my wildest imaginaion that central london would have 1,000 protesters protesting for PR.

He said it used to be a topic that only concerned a small number of academics and politicians. The fact that so many people are concerned about it was "wonderful".

He said he would not talk about the Lib Dem discussions. But he went on:



But take it from me. Reforming politics is one of the reason I went into politics ... I genuinely believe it is in the national interest ... for us to use this opportunity to usher in a new politics.

That was it. Then he headed back into the LGA.

3.46pm: Jackie Ashley at Cif at the polls says Alex Salmond's intervention in the hung parliament debate today (see 2.47pm and 3.28pm) could be "critical".

Now that Salmond is offering SNP and Plaid Cymru support – even if it is only to bring in PR – that's another 9 MPs, bringing the numbers to 324. Caroline Lucas, the sole Green MP could be expected to join them too – 325. Then there are 3 SDLP MPs, or the 1 Alliance MP from Northern Ireland who may lend support and bingo – the once in a lifetime chance to change the electoral system.

3.39pm: Kay Burley's coverage of the electoral reform demo has made it onto YouTube. It wasn't her finest moment. "Lots of demonstrators shouting 'Fair Votes Now', not sure what they mean by that," she said. (Thanks to Lee, a reader, for emailing me the link.)

Nick Clegg is going to come out and speak to the crowd outside the LGA, the Lib Dems have announced.

3.32pm: In the FT this morning (see 10.21am) Lord Tebbit criticised David Cameron for not winning the election outright. Today, on his blog, he has gone further. He is saying Cameron will lose the next election if he strikes a deal with the Lib Dems.



This parliament will not last its potential five-year span. This election did not complete the purge of the sickness of New Labour. It is the next election which will decide the fate of the country – and the Conservative party will not win that election if it is tainted with the contamination of coalition with a party which puts the interests of Our Masters in Brussels ahead of the interests of the British people.

3.28pm: Will Straw, the Labour blogger, is on the demo. He's posted a twitpic of it on the web.

Nick Robinson has written a blog about Alex Salmond's call for a Labour/Lib Dem/nationalist progressive alliance (see 2.47pm).

The key question Liberal Democrats have to consider is how stable such an arrangement would prove to be. Legislating for a referendum on electoral reform, staging it and implementing the necessary boundary changes could take over two years. So, if PR is the main goal for many Lib Dems they'd have to be sure that "the progressive alliance" would last that long.

3.16pm: What's going on inside the meeting? Earlier a Lib Dem spokesman said there was a "warm" feeling at the meeting towards Clegg. MPs were "providing their opinions on the political situation" and everyone was being given the chance to speak. He described it as a "good, convivial meeting".

3.14pm: The protesters are now chanting: "We want to see Nick". Billy Bragg is telling the BBC that he is supporting the demonstration and that the Lib Dems should not go into a coalition with any party that does not promise a referendum on PR within a week. He predicts that David Miliband will be prime minister within a week.

3.09pm: Pam Giddy, the director of Power 2010, is on the demo. She's just said this to the BBC:

Nick [Clegg], when he spoke around the country during the campaign, ignited a feeling that people want change. They may not have voted for him because they got scared. But that's what we're saying: keep strong. Otherwise your party, the people that you've motivated, all the young people that are here today, are going to be incredibly disappdointed and politics will suffer.



The police are saying about 2,000 people are on the march, I'm told.

3.00pm: The electoral reform demo (see 12.38pm) is coming past the Houses of Parliament now. It's difficult to judge the size of the crowd from what I can see from the Commons press gallery window, but there must be several hundred people at least taking part. They are shouting "Fair votes now" and Hélène Mulholland tells me they have just arrived at the LGA meeting, where Clegg is meeting his MPs. It's quite unusual to have people demonstrating outside a meeting of the Lib Dem parliamentary party.

2.58pm: Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader and unsuccessful candidate in Buckingham, has left hospital today. He was injured on polling day in a light aircraft crash. Today he described himself as the "luckiest man alive".

2.54pm: The Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform has issued a statement urging the Lib Dems to reject a deal with the Tories

The Tories want to seduce Clegg into throwing away this golden opportunity for delivering a new, consensus-seeking political system. David Cameron's promise would see PR kicked into the long grass. He would be looking to call a second general election before it reports.

By contrast, Labour's manifesto contained clear pledges to have a referendum on scrapping the broken first-past-the-post system, and having a second chamber elected on a form of proportional representation.

Who would the Lib Dems prefer to work with? Conservatives offering cynical promises they don't believe in, or principled supporters of the reforms for which Liberal Democracts have so long campaigned?

2.47pm: According to the BBC, here is what Alex Salmond has said about a pro-PR alliance (see 1.39pm).

Alex Salmond. Photograph: Murdo Macleod

The assumption is a Tory/Liberal Democrat pact is not correct. There are alternative and more progressive options available if politicians have the will to seize the moment. The SNP and Plaid are indicating that we do.

If Labour (258 MPs), the Lib Dems (57 MPs), the SNP (6 MPs), Plaid Cymru (3 MPs), the SDLP (3 MPs) and the Greens (1 MP) all join forces, they would have 328 votes in the Commons - a majority.

1.39pm: Here's a lunchtime summary:

• Nick Clegg has started to consult his party about forming a pact with the Conservatives. He is meeting his MPs now, and the Lib Dem federal executive will meet later this afternoon. At the moment there is no deal on the table - the Tory and Lib Dem negotiating teams only met for the first time last night - and we're not expecting any votes or decision. Clegg has said that his party is taking part in the talks "in a constructive spirit" and that he will be guided by the four principles that he set out repeatedly during the election campaign (see 10.37am). He is not expected to say anything more about the talks in public today. We're not going to find out what the Lib Dems are going to do today, but we may get a sense of what the mood in the party is when MPs leave the meeting at 3pm.

• The Tory and Lib Dem negotatiating teams have agreed to meet tomorrow at 11am. The meeting will take place in the Cabinet Office.

• Labour ministers have urged the Lib Dems to reject the Tory offer. Ben Bradshaw and Peter Hain have both said that if the Lib Dems want electoral reform, they should strike a deal with Labour. (See 9.44am and 1.21pm)

• Alex Salmond has urged the Lib Dems to join a pro-PR alliance. The BBC has just reported this now, and I have not seen the full details yet. Apparently, he thinks Labour, the Lib Dems and the nationalist parties should combine against the Tories. This is curious because on Friday the BBC's website was running a story headlined: "Alex Salmond rules out coalition deals." I'll post on this again when I learn more.

• Labour and Lib Dem sources have denied a BBC report claiming that Brown and Clegg had a row on the phone last night. Jon Sopel said that he had been told that Brown delivered a "diatribe" and the Clegg concluded it would be impossible to work with Labour while Brown remained leader. Labour and the Lib Dems have both said the conversation was amicable. (See 11.58am, 12.17pm, 12.41pm)

• David Cameron has called Tory MPs to a meeting at 6pm on Monday. The Tory leader has reportedly given up hope of reaching a deal with the Lib Dems before Monday.

• A report claiming that Cameron offered the Lib Dems three cabinet posts has been denied. (See 1.24pm)

1.24pm: There have been reports in the media claiming that David Cameron offered Nick Clegg three cabinet posts: home secretary, transport secretary and chief secretary to the Treasury. The Lib Dems have denied this: "The discussions last night were only exploratory. We have made clear that we would have to agree a policy programme before there would be any discussion of jobs, if that was appropriate," said a Lib Dem spokesman.

1.21pm: Apart from Harriet Harman, the only two cabinet ministers who have been giving broadcast interviews today are Ben Bradshaw and Peter Hain. They are probably the two members of the cabinet who are most enthusiastic about PR and cooperation with the Lib Dems. They have both been stressing the possibility of a Labour/Lib Dem deal on PR. They have not quite put it like this, but they have been appealing to the Lib Dems to say no to David Cameron.

This is what Hain said about PR.

I hope out of this we will see a big change in British politics - a new voting system, a new second chamber, a fixed term parliament. But that can only come about from the Liberal Democrats talking with Labour and agreeing a new programme for government.

1.11pm: David Cameron is meeting all his MPs at 6pm on Monday, the Tories have announced. "We are in constant touch with [MPs]. The chief whip is keeping them up to date," a spokeswoman said.

1.05pm: My colleague Allegra Stratton also went to the LGA HQ to doorstep the Lib Dem meeting. When she arrived, she was surprised to be mobbed by reporters and cameramen. They thought she was Julia Goldsworthy, a Lib Dem local government spokesman.

12.58pm: There was an interesting discussion of the hung parliament situation on the BBC just now involving Nick Robinson, Peter Hennessy (the historian) and Robert Hazell (the constitutional expert). Here are some of the points they made.

• The panel seemed to think that a "confidence and supply" agreement between the Tories and the Lib Dems was more likely than a formal coalition. That would involve the Lib Dems agreeing to support the Queen's speech and the budget, but being free to vote against specific measures.

• They suggested that there would be a deal in writing and that it would be published. Hazell said the coalition agreement between Labour and the Lib Dems in the Scottish parliament ran to around 80 pages.

• Hennessy said he thought the Tories and the Lib Dems would need to put out an interim statement, before they had hammered out the small print of a deal, because they would need to reassure the markets.

There have been suggestions that there needs to be a deal - or at least the prospect of a deal - by Monday morning to stop the markets taking fright. Apparently, that's not the view in Downing Street, where Monday am is not seen as a deadline.

12.41pm: Here is more from Jon Sopel on the Clegg/Brown conversation (see 11.32am, 11.58am and 12.17pm).

The senior Lib Dem source I spoke to said it was a diatribe, it was a rant, and that Gordon Brown was threatening in his approach to Nick Clegg and that Nick Clegg came off the phone at the end of it feeling that whilst political the Labour party and the Liberal Democrats may not be that far apart, actually the person in the shape of Gordon Brown would be someone it would be impossible to enter a partnership with because of his general attitude towards working with other people. And the conversation sounded pretty terrible, according to this Liberal Democrat source.

But we've now had an offical denial from the Lib Dems. A Lib Dem spokeswoman said:

There was a conversation yesterday afternoon, but any suggestion that it was in any way angry or hostile would be wrong. It was perfectly amicable and both men just set out what they said in their public statements.

12.38pm: At 2pm today there is going to be a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in favour of electoral reform.

12.38pm: On the BBC, David Dimbleby is back in action. He just asked Harriet Harman whether Brown should stand down. She sidestepped the question. "That is actually putting the cart before the horse," she said.

12.25pm: David Babbs, from the 38 Degrees pressure group, has arrived at the Lib Dem summit. He's carrying a banner saying: "Be Brave. Fair votes now." According to my colleague Hélène, who is doorstepping the meeting, Babbs said: "This has to be the last election fought under first-past-the-post. [Electoral reform] has to be a priority."

The Lib Dems are now saying the meeting with MPs will go on until 3pm. The federal executive will then meet at 5pm, at a different venue, the Work Foundation.

12.17pm: A Labour source has been on the phone to insist that Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg did not have a row on the phone last night. He said that Sopel's report (see 11.32am and 11.58am) was "very fabricated". He said that Clegg did not tell Brown he should resign. The source said it was a short call, but "very amicable". The source said that Clegg and Brown discussed the process that the Lib Dems are going through. Brown told Clegg that if the talks with the Tories did not work out, Brown would be willing to open negotiations.

At the Cenotaph Brown, Cameron and Clegg all laid their wreaths together, rather than one by one (with Brown going first). The TV commentators are not sure whether this was because no one won the election, or because it was quicker doing it that way.

11.58am: I'm trying to get more about this Brown/Clegg conversation (see 11.32am). The BBC says Brown "delivered a diatribe laced with threats when he spoke to Nick Clegg last night by phone". The tone was "in sharp contrast to the respectful and constructive talk between David Cameron and Mr Clegg". Sopel has attributed his information to Lib Dem sources. But according to the Labour and Lib Dem sources who have been briefing Sky, the conversation was not like that at all.

Brown, Cameron and Clegg are about to meet at the Cenotaph.

11.49am: Hélène has called from the Lib Dem summit. The MPs are starting to arrive for the 12pm meeting now. Malcolm Bruce, Sir Menzies Campbel and Sir Alan Beith have already turned out. Clegg has left to go to the Cenotaph. Apparently, he was applauded by a group of schoolchildren as he left.

The Lib Dems are saying that their meeting will go on until about 4pm. The federal executive will meet (also in the LGA) after that. Party officials say Clegg is not planning to say anything more in public today about the talks with the Tories.

11.32am: The BBC is reporting that Gordon Brown spoke to Nick Clegg last night. According to Jon Sopel, the conversation "didn't go very well at all". Sopel suggests that Clegg suggested he could not deal with Labour while Brown remained leader.

11.27am: If Nick Clegg wants to go into coalition with the Tories (or Labour), he is constrained by something called the "triple lock". This is a party rule passed in 1998 when activists were worried about Paddy Ashdown's desire to do a deal with Labour. (They were right to be worried. Ashdown was more committed to coalition than he admitted in public, and Tony Blair was even talking privately about a merger.) Here (from Liberal Democrat Voice) is the wording of the triple lock.

Conference agrees that:

(i) in the event of any substantial proposal which could affect the party's independence of political action, the consent will be required of a majority of members of the parliamentary party in the House of Commons and the fderal executive; and,

(ii) unless there is a three-quarters majority of each group in favour of the proposals, the consent of the majority of those present and voting at a special conference convened under clause 6.6 of the Constitution; and,

(iii) unless there is a two-thirds majority of those present and voting at that conference in favour of the proposals, the consent of a majority of all members of the party voting in the ballot called pursuant to clause 6.11 or 8.6 of the constitution.

11.10am: Sky is getting excited about the fact that Clegg talked about fundamental "political reform" and not fundamental "electoral reform" when he arrived at the LGA (see 10.37am). I'm a huge fan of Sky, but I think they're wrong about this. When Lib Dems talk about political reform, they mean electoral reform.

11.03am: The Lib Dems have indicated that there won't be any votes at the meeting today.

Here, from the Press Association, are some of the things other Lib Dems have been saying about today's events.

Norman Baker said he was expecting "a very, very interesting day". Lord Ashdown said the media would have to be "a little bit patient". And Steve Webb, asked if there was support within the party for a deal with Tories, replied: "I don't know. This has all moved so quickly. It's only 36 hours since the result."

10.58am: More from the Lib Dem summit. Hélène tells me that Vincent Cable has just arrived. He did not say anything as he went in. (He was wearing a brown corduroy jacket, apparently, which does not seem to have gone down well with the style police.) Clegg will be out again at 11.45, because he's got to go to the Cenotaph for an event to mark the 65th anniversary of VE day. He will be back at 12.25. Of the Lib Dems' 57 MPs, 56 of them are coming. Dan Rogerson, apparently, is stuck in Cornwall.

10.52am: If you missed Jim Naughtie's radio essay on the hung parliament situation on the Today programme this morning, you should listen to it. He spent some time taking soundings yesterday and his conclusion is that Gordon Brown knows it's over and that David Cameron will soon become prime minister. He also said he had been told the Tories were willing to offer the Lib Dems a very senior cabinet post, such as the Foreign Office, the Home Office or the Treasury. (It was not clear whether he meant the chancellor's post, or another Treasury job.)

10.44am: My colleague Hélène Mulholland is door-stepping the Lib Dem meeting with other journalists. I've just spoken to her on the phone.

Hélène Mulholland Photograph: guardian.co.uk

After Clegg went in, he was followed by Chris Huhne, Danny Alexander, and Andrew Stunnell. They went straight in, without saying a word, despite our best efforts to get them to say something. It was very businesslike. They looked a bit ministerial, though they're not ministers yet. We haven't seen Vince Cable. He seems to be late - the meeting was meant to start at 10.30am - but we've been told he will be here soon.

Nick Clegg outside his home in south London today. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

10.37am: Nick Clegg has arrived at the LGA at Smith Square. This is what he said:

Clearly the result of the election means politicians have a duty to speak to each other. People deserve good, stable government. That's why I'm very keen the Liberal Democrats should enter into discussions with other parties as we are doing in a constructive spirit. That's precisely what we will do in the coming hours and days.

Throughout we will be very much making the case for the four big priorities that we've always said, well before this election took place, would guide us in any circumstances. They are there right on the face of our manifesto.

Firstly, fair tax reform. Secondly, a new approach in education to provide the fair start that all children deserve in school. Thirdly, a new approach to the economy so that we can build a new economy from the rubble of the old. And, fourthly, fundamental political reform to our political system. And it's precisely those four changes that will guide us in the talks ahead.

10.21am: The Tory blame-game has started in earnest. Here are some snippets from the papers.

From Michael Brown (a former Tory MP) in the Independent:

In the words of one senior Tory backbencher to me yesterday, "Cameron has pissed this election away." The Tory leader has spent more than four years "decontaminating the brand". Yet, against this backcloth of humiliation for Labour, he has ended up with less than a 3% increase on the share of the vote achieved at the 2005 general election by Michael Howard, who pursued a "dog whistle" campaign highlighting, immigration, Europe and tax cuts.

From Francis Elliott and Roland Watson in the Times:

Anger at the failure of the Tories' campaign, an effort tightly controlled by the leadership, is bubbling dangerously close to the surface. The unpalatable truth, say critics, is that for decades the most well-funded, professionally organised and disciplined Tory campaign has come up short. Disaffected MPs have identified two early scapegoats: Andy Coulson and Mr Hilton.

Mr Coulson, unfairly insist some, is being blamed for allowing Mr Cameron to be trapped by his own rhetoric in the television debates. The decision to give Nick Clegg a platform was a grave blunder, as even Mr Cameron has come close to acknowledging.

Mr Hilton, meanwhile, shoulders responsibility for crafting a message that failed to connect with sufficient force.

Behind-the-scenes anecdotes are starting to emerge. One records how Bill Knapp, the US political consultant hired to help Mr Cameron, had a simple question on the eve of the vital second television debate. What research had been done into what voters thought of the Tory campaign's key theme of the Big Society? The answer was an embarrassed silence. When results from a hurriedly convened focus group detailed a negative reaction at a subsequent meeting, Mr Hilton is said to have stormed out.

From Jean Eaglesham in the Financial Times:

Lord Tebbit, the Thatcherite former cabinet minister, said the failure to establish an election-winning lead was "the fault of the Conservatives themselves. I hope that if Mr Cameron becomes prime minister he will learn that lesson."

"I told you so," said one MP. "The party is angry. . . It's all blame, blame, blame. The know-it-alls [Cameroons] haven't delivered."

10.05am: What have David Cameron and Nick Clegg been up to so far this morning?

According to the Press Association, Clegg "left his home in Putney today with one of his children. He returned a few minutes later and, responding to journalists' questions, said simply: 'I'll keep you informed later'. As for Cameron, "dressed in running gear, he returned to his London home carrying newspapers, where he was greeted by a neighbour, who wished him good luck in forming a new government".

10.01am: Simon Hughes, the Lib Dem energy spokesman, told the Today programme that he expected his party to reach a decision by Wednesday, which he said was when the new parliament would meet. But the new parliament does not actually meet until Tuesday May 18. He said that at the party meeting today there would not be a "deal on the table" to discuss. But the party would consider where it wanted to go.

Hughes and other members of the Lib Dem shadow cabinet will be meeting at the Local Government Association HQ in Smith Square, Westminster, before the meeting of all Lib Dem MPs in the same venue at noon.

9.51am: Liam Fox, the Tory defence spokesman, was on the Today programme too. He sais that the Tories would not be "held to ransom" by the Lib Dems demanding PR.

It would seem to me very strange in an election that was dominated by the economy ... if the government of the UK was held to ransom over an issue that the voters did not see as their priority. I don't think that it's reasonable, given the result of the election, where we did come clearly ahead of any other party, that an agenda would be applied that was very much against what a very large proportion voted for.

Ben Bradshaw. Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty

9.44am: Ben Bradshaw, the culture secretary (and one of the strongest supporters of PR in the cabinet), has been doing a series of interviews this morning. He thinks that a Tory/Lib Dem coalition would not work and that a Labour/Lib Dem deal is more likely.

He told the Today programme:

It would be inconceivable to me for the Liberal Democrats to sign up to anything that fell short of a guarantee of a referendum on reform of the voting system. I still see the possibility of a progressive coalition in this country ... We are in a new world. The people have spoken, the people have won this election, no political party has won this election. This is a very exciting moment for progressives.

Bradshaw also claimed that the Lib Dems and Labour were "as one" on the economy.

On the economy, the biggest issue facing this country, we and the Liberal Democrats agree that it would be a disaster to take £6bn out of the economy now. It would take us back into recession. That's the Conservative policy, so the idea that, I think, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems will be able to work together, I don't believe it.

9.38am: I'll be blogging through the day, covering the latest developments, flagging up all the best stories in today's papers and of course reporting from the key Lib Dem meeting at midday.

9.34am: Who's going to run the country? Two days after the election, it's still not clear. It's largely up to the Lib Dems, and Nick Clegg's party has already opened talks with the Conservatives about some form of coalition. At midday today there will be a meeting of Lib Dem MPs and peers that will allow Clegg to find out what his party feels about a deal. Later there will be a meeting of the Lib Dems' federal executive. But the party does not have to take a firm decision today. By late this afternoon we'll probably get a better idea of where the Lib Dems are heading. But we almost certainly won't get an outcome.

In the Guardian today, my colleague Allegra Stratton has got a terrific explanation of the dilemma facing Clegg.

Allegra Stratton byline. Photograph: Frank Baron



One analyst put the risks of a Tory coalition like this: "We know he is absolutely insincere about political reform and anything he has to say in this area is worthless – a historical fact. Secondly, there's not a huge amount of political convergence so it would be difficult to construct an honourable alliance on tax reform, on defence, on marriage, on the family, on ID cards. Thirdly, he will preside over unpopular decisions, and so why be involved in those? And fourthly, there will always be an aim on the Tories' part to blame the Lib Dems for anything that goes wrong and so pull the rug out from under our feet."

On the other hand, they listed the risks of a Lib-Lab pact: "Firstly, Brown is unpopular and the only kind of coalition he could forge would be short of what we need, exotic and unwieldy. Secondly, the rightwing media will run against that coalition. Thirdly, there will be a public perception that they have just witnessed gerrymandering. And lastly, any PR referendum ultimately becomes a referendum on an unpopular Lib-Lab pact – and the choice is rejected with the last chance to bring in profound electoral change for a generation."