Britain's third biggest political party, the Liberal Democrats, has not made any "backroom deals" in the event of a hung parliament in which it could hold the balance of power, leader Nick Clegg said today.
Opinion polls show the main opposition Conservatives are on course to oust the Labour government this year, returning to power for the first time in 13 years, but some recent surveys indicate no single party may win an overall majority.
Labour and Conservative leaders have been seen trying to woo the Liberal Democrats during the past week, paving the way for possible cooperation after the election, which has to be held before June.
Mr Clegg said there were "no backroom deals or under-the-counter understandings with either of the other two main parties".
Last week, Conservative leader David Cameron stressed common ground with the Liberal Democrats, saying "there is a lot less disagreement than there used to be".
Britain has limited recent experience of coalition politics and markets are wary that a hung parliament would fail to produce a government able to tackle a huge budget deficit set to exceed 12 percent of GDP this year.
Reuters