‘Red lines’ drawn as parties outline no-go areas

There is less than a week to go and the polls still haven’t moved – meaning the parties are firmly in minority or coalition government territory.

David Cameron and Ed Miliband are determined to keep talking about winning a majority but Nick Clegg is openly discussing “red lines” in his manifesto. What is a red line? The phrase “red line” is simply a negotiating tactic. It is used to indicate pre-conditions for any deal and separates policies a party is not prepared to let go of from others they might be prepared to drop in favour of a wider agreement.

In 2010, for example, the Liberal Democrats insisted on dramatic increases to the personal income tax allowance and implementing a pupil premium in schools, but gave way on tuition fees. In the same agreement, the Conservatives got the green light to press ahead with NHS reforms and developing free schools, but left out high profile promises on inheritance tax. What do they tell us? Red lines can give an indication of what a party is really committed to and give a picture of where different parties might be able to hammer out an agreement.

But it is a limited tool from the outside as politicians have been generally reluctant to go into too much detail.

Once in the negotiating room, red lines determine the boundaries of any possible deal – or make clear no deal is possible at all. What are the red lines we know about? The Conservatives have said they want the promised referendum on Europe, with Mr Cameron leaning on it during a Question Time special.

The Labour Party placed fiscal responsibility on the front page of its manifesto, while the Liberal Democrats have made clear further rises to the personal allowance is a deal breaker.

Nick Clegg is openly talking about red lines for his party.