Brown clings on as horse-trading begins

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown fired the starting pistol on a round of horse-trading over a coalition administration today as he asked the head of the civil service to provide support to parties engaged in discussions on the formation of a government.

In a statement issued by 10 Downing Street, Mr Brown left no doubt that he is not intending to step down as Prime Minister as a result of Labour losing its majority in Parliament in yesterday’s election.

Mr Brown said he had “a duty as Prime Minister to take all steps to ensure Britain has a strong, stable and principled government”.

Last night’s election delivered a hung Parliament for the first time since 1974, with Conservatives the largest single party but unable to form an outright majority without the support of other parties.

The result makes Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg the possible “kingmaker”, despite a deeply disappointing night at the polls.

A senior Lib Dem source indicated that Mr Clegg would speak to Tories first about a possible deal, saying that the party which won “the most seats and the most votes” would have the “moral right” to seek to form a government, either on its own or in coalition.

In his statement, Mr Brown said: “The election results are likely to show there is no clear majority for any single party.

“As I said last night, it is my duty as Prime Minister to take all steps to ensure Britain has a strong, stable and principled government.

“This is, of course, chiefly a task for politicians and – in time – for Parliament.

“But to facilitate this process and consistent with the conventions set out in the draft Cabinet Manual, I have asked the Cabinet Secretary to arrange for the civil service to provide support on request to parties engaged in discussions on the formation of government.”

Speaking on the steps of his party's Westminster HQ, Mr Clegg said the party with the most votes and seats had the ``first right'' to seek to form an administration.

“I have said that whichever party gets the most votes and the most seats has the first right to seek to govern, either on its own or by reaching out to other parties and I stick to that view,” said the Lib Dem leader.

“I think it is now for the Conservative Party to prove that it is capable of seeking to govern in the national interest.”

His comments were a clear indication that he will talk first with Mr Cameron about the prospect of a Commons pact to allow the creation of a stable government.

But the Lib Dem leader was the subject of strong overtures from Labour, with senior ministers leaving no doubt that the PM will be ready to deliver their cherished goal of electoral reform in return for a deal which keeps him in Downing Street.

Mr Brown returned to Number 10 this morning with no clear indication of whether he will be able to remain there as Prime Minister.

With 33 seats left to declare, the Conservatives had 291 MPs, with Labour on 248 and the Lib Dems on 51.

The projected results indicated that a Conservative/Lib Dem coalition could provide a solid overall majority in the Commons, but that if Labour was to enter into a deal with Mr Clegg, they would also require the support of smaller parties like the Welsh and Scottish nationalists, the SDLP and Britain’s first Green MP.

Close Cameron confidant Michael Gove indicated that the Tory leader would be “happy to talk” with other parties with the goal of delivering a “strong and stable” Conservative-led government at a time of grave economic uncertainty for the UK.

But other senior Tories made clear that Mr Cameron would wait to see the final shape of the new Parliament before deciding how to proceed.

The Conservatives may prefer to seek to govern as a minority rather than offer the Lib Dems the electoral reform which is likely to be an absolute precondition for any deal.

The pound tumbled against the dollar and euro and the FTSE 100 index fell to a three-year low this morning as the markets took fright at the prospect of a hung Parliament.