On 9 May 2010, the Liberal Democrats enjoyed long talks with both the Conservative and Labour parties trying to hammer out a deal that could see a stable government emerge after the General Election resulted in a hung Parliament.
The main talks have been between negotiators for both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. Nick Clegg made clear on Friday 7 May that the Conservatives, who are now the biggest party in the Commons, should have the first chance to assemble a coalition. However, it has been revealed that, this afternoon, Nick Clegg also met Gordon Brown at an unanounced meeting at the Foreign Office. Channel 4 News reported a Liberal Democrat spokesperson as saying that there were now "two deals on the table".
A Con-Lib Coalition
The most likely end-point to all this would still appear to be a coalition government between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. Under this deal, it is likely that some senior Liberal Democrats could have Cabinet positions, and one or two Liberal Democrat flagship policies would make their way into the programme of the government. Nick Clegg and David Cameron had two extended talks on 9 May 2010.