text: A 'rainbow coalition' made up of several different parties could cause chaos, Nick Clegg warned today. The Lib Dem leader, who hopes to hold the balance of power after May 7, said the idea of more than two parties forming a government is not 'going to work'. He said it would be a 'messy' way to run the country, and risked instability with the future of the government put in peril with every late night vote. Scroll down for video . Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, who hopes to hold the balance of power after May 7, said the idea of more than two parties forming a government is not 'going to work'. Mr Clegg told voters to go to the ballot box on May 7 expecting a hung parliament, with no one party able to secure an overall majority of MPs in the Commons. However, he sought to make the case for only the Lib Dems working with Labour or the Conservatives, without having to rely on MPs from other smaller parties. Recent polls have put the Tories and Labour almost neck and neck, with seat projections suggesting a two-party coalition might struggle to secure a majority. A forecast from pollster YouGov suggested the likely result on May 7 is a badly hung Parliament. It predicted the Conservatives would end up on 297 seats, only slightly down on 2010, Labour 262, the SNP 35, Liberal Democrats 30, losing almost half of their MPs, Ukip four and the Greens one. A second Conservative-Lib Dem coalition would only be able to command a Commons majority of four, making it difficult to form a stable government. Experts have warned a badly hung parliament could send financial markets into a tailspin and the pound and shares crashing. Sterling has already fallen nearly five per cent against the US dollar in the past five weeks amid jitters about the outcome of the general election. If neither major party is able to form a stable government, it could send the pound plummeting by a further ten per cent. After the 2010 election, Labour PM Gordon Brown tried to pull together a 'rainbow coalition' of several smaller parties but it failed and the Lib Dems entered a power-sharing deal with the Tories. Mr Clegg today joined Lib Dem MP Mark Hunter as they  met Dan and Joanne  Thompson with six week old  son Leo and Amy  McGagh (right)  with her six month old daughter Sophie, during their visit to the Millie's Trust charity in Cheadle . Today Mr Clegg said the idea would not have worked then and will not work this time as it would be made up of single issue parties 'puling this way and that'. But with opinion polls pointing overwhelmingly towards a hung parliament and significant losses for the Lib Dems, it may be the only way Mr Clegg can fulfil his goal of playing a role in the next government. The Liberal Democrat leader told his weekly radio phone-in on LBC Radio 97.3: 'He (Mr Brown) was sort of very adamant that he thought that one could create a sort of rainbow coalition of lots and lots of different, a sort of smorgasbord of, different parties. 'I do remember saying, I just don't think that's going to work. I still don't think that's going to work and that might be actually more of a relevant question after May 7. 'I think this idea that you have a government with a whole array of single issue parties all pulling this way and that, I think it's a recipe for insomnia as votes will be strung out night after night after night in the House of Commons. But it's also a recipe for a messy way of governing the country.' Pollster YouGov suggested the likely result on May 7 is a badly hung Parliament. It predicted the Conservatives would end up on 297 seats, only slightly down on 2010, Labour 262, the SNP 35, Liberal Democrats 30, losing almost half of their MPs, Ukip four and the Greens one . Mr Clegg said the presence of seven leaders in tonight's election TV debate was an indication of the likelihood that no party would win an outright majority in 2015. But he insisted that having the Lib Dems around the cabinet table with either Labour or the Tories would keep the next government anchored in the centre ground and prevent Ed Miliband or David Cameron 'lurching one way or another'. Mr Clegg said: 'A coalition was not on the ballot paper last time. I think what's different about this election - and it will loom large in tonight's leaders' debate - is, I think, increasingly people are acknowledging that no one is going to win outright this time either. 'So in a sense what you need to choose ... is what party you prefer, but also - which I accept is complex - is which politicians, which parties, would you prefer working together after May 7.' He added: 'Having Liberal Democrats around the table is a good thing, because we keep the government in the centre ground rather than allowing particularly the two larger parties to lurch one way or the other.' Pressed on whether he would prefer a deal with Labour or the Tories, Mr Clegg said his personal views were 'completely irrelevant'. He said: 'I don't think that my whims or wishes or my feelings or my likes or dislikes about this or that other party leader ... they are literally completely irrelevant. 'The only thing that is relevant is what are the cards that are dealt to us by millions of people doing this wonderful thing, putting a simple cross next to somebody's name in a ballot box on May 7. They will tell us what combination is possible.'
target: Lib Dem leader warns three or four-party coalition 'is not going to work'
  Raises prospect of Lib Dems entering government with Labour or Tories .
  Experts warn hung parliament could send financial markets into turmoil .