THE usual game was played at this week’s Liberal Democrat conference - will Nick stick with Dave, the devil he knows, or twist with risky newcomer Ed?

Every utterance by a senior Lib Dem was interrogated to discover whether a future Coalition with the Conservatives or with Labour is now the more likely.

I played this game myself, interpreting the Lib Dem leader’s willingness to keep cutting tax credits in real terms as potentially paving the way for a further deal with the Tories.

Today, I report Redcar Lib Dem MP Ian Swales suggesting North-East Labour MPs are too “tribal” to accept Coalition, even when the two parties agree on policy.

But, as I head back to Westminster after the conference roadshow, it seems less-and-less likely that the Lib Dems will be making such an agonising choice next May.

That’s not because a hung parliament is less likely - because another stalemate seems odds-on, as both the big two parties fail to break out of their core vote and win over the floaters.

No, the first reason is that a much-shrunken Lib Dems are unlikely to boast enough MPs to be able to make a viable Coalition offer to both Conservative and Labour.

Yesterday, a still hugely-unpopular Mr Clegg was apologising yet again for the tuition fees fiasco. Saving 30 of the party’s 56 MPs would seem to be a good result.

But, astonishingly – and frighteningly, for some – it now seems plausible that Mr Clegg (if he’s still standing) will be unable to form a Commons majority with either Dave or Ed.

Disillusionment with Westminster politics is fuelling the growth of smaller parties, which could yet decide who cuddles their wife on the steps of No.10 next year.

In Scotland, the SNP is likely to bounce back from the referendum ‘no’ by snatching seats from a Labour party tarred by its Better Together’ ties with the Tories.

In England, Ukip seem certain to enjoy a by-election triumph in Clacton tonight and to win several more seats in May.

Labour may find themselves turning to the Greens and Plaid Cymru – and there will be 18 Northern Irish MPs that will come into play.

Some predictions are for both Labour and the Conservatives to win just shy of 300 seats each, triggering – if the Lib Dems are slaughtered – frenzied attempts to cobble together a majority.

That would mean unstable Government, held captive by these smaller parties and by the awkward squad of MPs to be found in each of the big two.

Another scenario is a minority government, before a quick-fire second election. Civil servants are already preparing for this possibility, apparently.

But what if this second poll delivers a second messy result? Some foresee a constitutional crisis, when the economic storm clouds are only just over the hill.

If it happens, remember what the supporters of the first-past-the-post system boast – it delivers stable Government.

IT pains me to report that the Lobby football team lost its unbeaten conference record – turned over 7-3 by a youthful Lib Dem side which, disgracefully, failed to include a single MP.

However, that will change next year, after Nick Clegg promised (don’t mention those fees) to get his boots on, telling me: “I would have played if somebody had asked me.”