Hung Parliament Won't of Itself Affect UK Financial Position

You've heard the Tory scare stories:

• A hung parliament will lead to us calling in the IMF
• A hung parliament will lead to the UK losing its triple A credit rating
• A hung parliament will lead to financial insecurity
• A hung parliament leads to Armageddon

Not necessarily so. There are 16 countries with a triple A rating and as the Independent points out 10 of those had coalition governments. Indeed many of the governments that took the toughest action.

Indeed Arnaud Mares, lead UK analyst for Moody's ratings agency, said:

"A hung parliament does not in itself have direct implications for Moody's UK rating. The three main parties broadly agree on the desirability of fiscal consolidation on a scale that, if implemented strictly over the course of the next parliament, would be consistent with the Government maintaining its Moody's AAA rating."

So in the words of David Cameron on Thursday night in the debate "let's end the scaremongering".