Labour and the Liberal Democrats are discussing a non-aggression pact to defeat the Conservatives. But Labour needs to win 124 seats for a majority of one. Britain’s political parties should be preparing now for potential minority government.

Minority Report: Preparing for Multi-party Government sets out how a Labour-led government could and should actually work. It goes behind the scenes of the 2010–15 coalition, the 1977–78 Lib-Lab Pact and the recent formation of a centre-left coalition government in Germany.

The report sets out: 

• How parties should approach negotiations
• The negotiation of policy compromises
• The ins and outs of forming a government
• The mechanics of how multi-party governments actually work – from decision-making to the civil service.

The UK’s political landscape is now one of multiple parties, but our political culture and administration is entirely set up for single-party rule and increasingly bears less and less resemblance to our multi-party reality.

Lessons come from Germany, where a red, green and yellow coalition has recently been constructed.