Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and defence secretary Michael Fallon at the ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of the Gallipoli campaign, at the Cenotaph on Whitehall in London.

Reuters/London


The leader of Britain’s Liberal Democrats ruled out joining a government that relied on support from Scotland’s nationalists, raising a potential obstacle to a coalition deal with the opposition Labour Party after a national election on May 7.
Nick Clegg, deputy prime minister who may again be kingmaker after a knife-edge election, also said he would prefer to line up with the party that wins most parliamentary seats, another potential hindrance to a deal with Labour.
The centrist Liberal Democrats have been the junior partner in a coalition with the Conservatives since 2010, disappointing many of their voters by working with a right-leaning party. They are forecast to lose around half of their seats, meaning they could struggle to form a coalition government with Labour.
In an interview with the Financial Times yesterday, Clegg said he could not work with the Scottish National Party (SNP), which seeks independence for Scotland, or the anti-EU UK Independence Party (Ukip).
“I totally rule out any arrangements with the SNP - in the same way I rule out any arrangements with Ukip - because there is no meeting point for me with one party that basically wants to pull our country to bits and another party that wants us to pull out of the EU,” Clegg said.
“I would never recommend to the Liberal Democrats that we help establish a government which is basically on a life support system, where Alex Salmond could pull the plug any time he wants,” he said of the former SNP leader.
The closest election in a generation has baffled Britain’s political classes who are poring over opinion polls and Westminster seat predictions to see who might rule the $2.8tn economy after the vote.
Opinion polls indicate neither the Conservatives of prime minister David Cameron nor Ed Miliband’s Labour will win an overall majority in the 650-seat parliament. Surveys show millions of voters flocking instead to once marginal parties, including in Scotland where the SNP looks set to make major gains.
Labour, which looks to be all but wiped out in its once stronghold of Scotland, has ruled out a formal coalition with the Scottish nationalists but left the door open to an informal deal. The SNP has said it would never work with the Conservatives.
Clegg said he would open talks on May 8 with the party with the biggest mandate. Most analysts think Cameron’s Conservatives could win the most seats but see Labour’s Miliband as having more options to form a coalition.
“You cannot provide stability, you can’t take difficult decisions, if people are constantly questioning the birthright of a government,” he said.
British prime minister David Cameron, fighting to keep power at a general election in two weeks, was left red-faced yesterday after getting the name of his favourite football team wrong.
Cameron said he supported West Ham United during a speech, despite previously insisting he was a fan of fellow Premier League team Aston Villa.
He later blamed the blunder on “brain fade” as he read a script from an autocue but the “Villagate” controversy drew plenty of criticism on social media.
The main opposition Labour party’s former communications chief, Alastair Campbell, said on Twitter it showed that Cameron was “out of touch. Phoney. Believes nothing”.
Former England footballer Gary Lineker added: “David Cameron has forgotten which football club he supports. Aston Villa last week, West Ham this. Burnley next?”
Cameron, whose upper-class background is often the subject of jibes from opponents, seems to have only started speaking of his support for Villa since becoming Conservative leader in 2005. His uncle was a former chairman of the club.
He told the house of commons in 2001 that he did not follow football.
Politicians from across the spectrum in Britain frequently speak of their support for football teams, even when their devotion to the cause seems questionable.
Ex-PM Tony Blair was mocked for years after claiming to have seen a star Newcastle United player in action in the late 1950s, even though he was a toddler and living abroad at the time.
A newspaper later rebutted the myth by saying it had misreported his comments.

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