Be strong, Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats, and don’t get seduced into a coalition government. A sop-seat in the Cabinet isn’t worth it. You won’t get to forward your agenda. And the voters, next election, won’t forgive you. This has happened before, in 1979. It took the party a generation to recover.
There is another way. Look to the Scottish Parliament for inspiration. Support the issues, not the party. It doesn’t matter to you which of the major parties is holding the reigns of government. You have preferences, sure, but those preferences surely must be subordinate to exercising the mandate of the electorate. They didn’t vote for deals.
This route has other advantages. You’ll be in the media all the time, and we now know you can do well there. Without unconditional support, the (admittedly remaining) excesses of either party’s political agenda won’t be able to be pushed by them. Your party’s opinion will count on every issue.
The last thing the UK needs right now is strong government. Don’t get sucked into giving us it.