Reply #29: Remember, power in Britain is centralised, especially in England

[muriel_volestrangler]

Scotland has roughly the autonomy of a Canadian province, and Wales and Northern Ireland not quite that much, but the UK government in Westminster (government, not parliament) has huge amounts of power. If there's a Tory minority government, it gets to run a hell of a lot of things, and the only brake on them is the threat of a vote of no confidence. So the prospect of the Tories running all government departments, with no agreements in place, or even just cabinet discussions, is not appealing. The only 'power' Clegg would have is to force a new election - and the Tories have the money to fight a new one, while the Lib Dems certainly don't, and Labour might not have much either, unless the unions get enthusiastic.