Britain's general elections may boost smaller parties' clout

LONDON -- Smaller parties could play a more pivotal role in British politics if the outcome in this week's general election results in a hung Parliament.

If no one wins an outright majority, the Liberal Democrats, the third-largest party after Labor and Conservatives, are being touted as possible kingmakers in deciding who becomes prime minister. They also favor electoral reform, which would dramatically shift the balance of power away from the two main parties.

Other parties, as well, see a hung Parliament as a rare chance to wield greater influence and press for more concessions from the larger parties.

The Scottish and Welsh nationalist parties have, for instance, joined forces in hopes they can exert more influence on the central government in Westminster in the event of a hung Parliament. Calling themselves the "Celtic bloc," the two parties have agreed on a wish list of demands, such as "fair" funding for Scotland and Wales, and investment in a green economy.

At a joint news conference Friday, Alex Salmond, the leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party and his Welsh counterpart, Ieuan Wyn Jones of Plaid Cymru, ruled out forming a formal coalition with either of the two largest parties, Labor or Conservative. But if there is a hung Parliament, they will offer their collective support on a case-by-case basis while pushing their joint policies.

Together, the two parties currently have 10 seats in the House of Commons, out of a possible 646. They hope to win a few more seats Thursday, and if the horse race is as tight as some polls suggest, small numbers will matter.

The political realities of coalitions and minority governments are well known in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which have their own devolved administrations -- an arrangement that shifts some governing authority away from the Parliament in London.

As first minister of Scotland, Salmond has led a minority administration for the past three years, passing legislation by brokering deals with Scotland's other three main parties. In the past month, Salmond has frequently appeared on television waxing poetic about the virtues of a "balanced Parliament," as he calls a hung Parliament, which could give smaller parties, like his, a stronger hand.

A hung Parliament "may well be an uncomfortable thought for the old parties of Westminster," said Wyn Jones, whose Plaid Cymru is in coalition with the Labor Party in the Welsh Assembly. "But it's a massive opportunity for the people of Wales and Scotland."