Another hung Parliament is a very real possibility this election - what would one entail?

It is a core element of the UK constitution that a Government can only form and govern if it has the confidence of the House of Commons. The easiest way for a party to demonstrate that they have this confidence is by winning an outright majority in a General Election. A nominal majority equates to 326 seats. However, due to a number of seats remaining vacant, such as the Speakers and Deputy Speakers and Sinn Fein, a party only needs 320 seats to command a simple majority. Nevertheless, there have been a number of occasions – most recently in 2017 – when no party has won an overall majority. This is known as a hung Parliament.

Another hung Parliament is a very real possibility this election, in which there is no clear mandate, no majority, and no consensus on the way forward.

This briefing explains what that means, how government formation works and what the possible options parties will have as well as assessing their likelihood.

Read Dods Monitoring's analysis in full HERE.