Will the Lib Dems ever control UK Parliament?

[King]

I'm very ignorant on UK politics, so please excuse me.  But they always seem to come in a fairly reasonable, but distant third and they always seem to grow slow from election to election.

My question is, do you think the UK will ever have a Lib Dem PM?  If so, what would have to be the political climate for such an event to occur?

[Harry Hayfield]

And the simple reason is that we don't have heartlands. Our 22% at Election 2005 was evenly spread.

East Midlands: 18%
Eastern: 22%
London: 22%
North East: 23%
North West: 21%
Scotland: 23%
South East: 25%
South West: 33%
Wales: 18%
West Midlands: 19%
Yorkshire: 21%

Therefore with the exception of the South West, all regions are national share +/- 5%

[Hash]

And the simple reason is that we don't have heartlands.

Add to that the horror that is FPTP.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

It's possible, but it will probably take Labour fracturing and collapsing as badly as the Liberal Party did after World War I which paved the way for Labour to escape its own status before then as a third party.

[Хahar 🤔]

No, because even if PR is introduced, the LibDems will be unable to distinguish themselves from the Tories/Labour.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

It'd probably take a deal with one of the two major parties where they get the PMship but the other party gets all/most of the cabinet positions and they couldn't form a government without them.

[mysteryminister]

Possibly in the next 25 years, depends on the fortunes of the Labour party and the sort of leaders they have. The Lib Dems have for the last 10 years, kept a firm grip on the local council scene in urban areas, and if the Lib Dems poll 18% or above at the next election, this will show, they are in a solid postion, and that there may be a sense of apathy about the 2 main parties among the younger voters like nothing before, and that's why i say 25 years, because by the time, the voters in their 20's will be in the 40's, and i suspect there will be an even more fragmented vote across the parties, and the Lib Dems could sneak in to become the Official Government or better.