The Hung Parliament Debate

I'm going to do something a little different here: rather than issue my opinion as usual, I want to know what you think first. I'll post my reflections as things develop.

It seems that the latest slew of opinion polls seem to be heading back in the direction of a hung parliament. And that got me thinking: back at the Riccarton Conference, Alex Salmond said he wanted the SNP to win 20 seats at the next Westminster election, "to make Westminster dance to a Scottish jig". But surely that's contingent on no party getting a majority, so needing those 20 SNP MPs to make the difference? For a party in the SNP's position to be effective, they need to have something that another party wants: the right level of support for the larger force to make things happen.

Now, speaking from an SNP perspective, I'd like there to be as much yellow on the map as possible - an election result that makes October 1974 look like a big disappointment - and a Hung Parliament, in which the SNP hold the balance of power. Conversely, the scenario I don't want to see unfold is one where the SNP advance stalls and either the Tories or Labour secure a clear majority.

But what if we had to choose just one aspect from our ideal scenario, and work with that?

And for the LibDems, the 1997, 2001 and 2005 elections produced results for the party (or its predecessors) not seen since the 1920s. But those record seat hauls came with two Labour landslides and a strong enough Labour majority that it was only called into question on issues of massive controversy, or following a cock-up by the Whips' Office. Conversely, just 13 Liberal MPs secured a Lib-Lab pact with the Callaghan Government. So are the LibDems at their strongest now, given their numbers, or were they stronger in the 70s, when they had Jim Callaghan over a barrel?

So for the SNP and LibDem supporters among us, which would you prefer if you were forced to choose: to have a large group of MPs, but have to deal with a stable majority Government; or have a smaller group that finds itself holding the balance of power in a Hung Parliament?

For Labour and Conservative supporters, how would you like to see your party behave in a Hung Parliament? If you're the largest party, would you prefer to try and find Coalition partners, or try to go it alone? If you're the second largest, would you want to try and build a majority anyway (if the arithmetic allowed it), or would you think it wiser to sit in Opposition while the larger party tried to get it together?

And for Others/Non-aligned/Don't knows, what you want to see from a Hung Parliament? Would you want to see one at all?

Readers, the floor (well, the comments section) is yours...