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Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out a coalition with the Lib Dems if Labour fails to win a majority at the next general election.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Asked if he would do a deal with the Lib Dems, the Labour leader told the BBC this was a “hypothetical question”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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But he said he would never do a deal with the SNP because of a “fundamental disagreement” on Scottish independence. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Despite local election gains, experts say support for Labour may not yet be enough to win an overall majority.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Last week the party gained 537 councillors and 22 councils in England, including key battlegrounds like Swindon, Plymouth, Medway and Stoke-on Trent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Those are places where Labour is hoping for success at the next general election. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Following the results, Sir Keir said his party was on course for a majority.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The BBC’s projected national share – which estimates what the outcome would have been if all of Britain had the chance to vote – put Labour at 35%, nine points ahead of the the Conservatives. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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But many commentators have predicted this level of support may not translate into an overall majority at the next general election, which must happen before January 2025. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\n- Election results: Who won in my area?<\/li>\n
- Kuenssberg: What’s next after election upheaval?<\/li>\n
- Sir John Curtice: What election results mean for the parties<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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If no party wins a majority in the House of Commons, the result is a hung Parliament. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The party with the most seats is usually asked to form a government but in order to secure a majority it must get support from other parties – either through an informal deal or a formal coalition. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Asked if he would ever do a deal with the Liberal Democrats, Sir Keir told the BBC: “I want to press on for a Labour majority, that’s what we’re aiming for. This is a hypothetical question.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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However, in response to the same question in relation to the Scottish National Party, he said: “No… because there’s a fundamental disagreement. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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“I will never do a deal with a party that thinks the separation of the United Kingdom is the way forward.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Put to him that this was also a hypothetical question, Sir Keir insisted “there is no basis for a deal at all with the SNP because of their politics of separation”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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On Sunday, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey – whose party gained 12 councils and more than 400 councillors on Thursday – ruled out going into a coalition with the Conservatives but refused to say the same for Labour. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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He said it was a “hypothetical question” adding that he would not “take the voters for granted”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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On Tuesday, he added that the party’s strategy was to target Conservatives in so-called “blue wall” areas of southern England and there must be “no sitting back”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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It all adds up to what looks like symmetrical flirting from Labour and the Liberal Democrats.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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They each answer the question in exactly the same way, despite being able to be categoric about equally hypothetical situations of deals with the Conservatives and the SNP respectively.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In both local elections and at a general election, in most instances Labour and the Lib Dems are competitive against the Conservatives in different parts of the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Expect to see Tory MPs and ministers talk up what they see as the dangers of a hung parliament, with Labour reliant on other parties for support.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In 2010, the Lib Dems formed a coalition government with the Tories but the party paid the price at the next general election, losing 49 seats.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The Conservative-Lib Dem coalition lasted a full term and was arguably more stable than the Conservative-only governments that followed it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n