Minority government: lessons from Scotland

As Westminster gears up for a ­possible hung parliament, political parties are closely studying events in ­Edinburgh. Alex Salmond, the Scottish first ­minister, runs a minority nationalist administration with just a one-vote cushion over Labour. In January last year, the Scottish parliament provided an object lesson in how difficult it can be to topple a minority government during an economic crisis. When Salmond failed to make the concessions demanded, Labour, the Lib Dems and the Greens unexpectedly voted down his budget. Had Salmond lost a second vote he would have been forced to resign. As the next largest party, Labour would then have to try to form a government. But Labour was unpopular at Holyrood and appeared to have ­little chance of forming a ruling coalition. If Labour had failed, a costly mid-term election would have been called, allowing Salmond to pose as the noble victim to voters. His SNP would probably have won more seats. Labour and the Lib Dems blinked, and allowed Salmond's budget to pass. These events give the Lib Dems confidence about their prospects of grinding concessions out of a minority government, and may well make Labour feel very uneasy about its options if David Cameron comes out ahead in Westminster. There are important differences between Holyrood and the Commons, however. Elected by proportional representation for a fixed term of four years, the Scottish parliament is designed to promote coalitions. Holyrood has never had one party with an overall majority. Compromise is built into the way ­Holyrood is run. Over the last three years, Salmond's opponents have ­delicately gauged when and if to vote down an SNP measure.