Professor Petra Schleiter comments on what happens if there is a hung parliament

Petra Schleiter has been quoted in a Guardian article entitled 'Can a second-placed party in an election legitimately call the shots?' (5 May), in which she talks about the “democratic and electoral logic” of giving the largest single party the first chance to assembe a government.

The article can be read here: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/05/can-a-second-placed-party-in-an-election-legitimately-call-the-shots

She has also been quoted in an article for Civil Service World (28 April) that asks whether Britain needs clearer rules around a 'caretaker' government.

“The lack of caretaker conventions can create moments of great political and economic uncertainty,” she argues. 

“After the fact, clearly people understand you’ve got to do something about it. But before? Often people think, ‘now it’s not a big deal, it’s never created a problem yet’. So it’s very easy to push this to the side… I think the government has really missed an opportunity to clarify the rules that actually should apply during these periods.”

The full article can be read here: https://www.civilserviceworld.com/articles/feature/squatter-downing-street-and-other-myths-does-britain-need-clearer-rules-around