WHEN the 2015 General Election results came in, Ed Miliband hugged his wife Justine with a grin. He was heading to Downing Street – or so he thought.

Okay, the voters’ verdict was not the one the Labour leader really wanted – a Commons majority – but that was unlikely from the moment the economy bounced back strongly in early 2014.

Nevertheless, Labour had survived a difficult campaign, in which the Tories had edged in front, to emerge as easily the largest party, 21 seats short of that elusive majority.

Without hesitation, Mr Miliband stated his intention to seek a Coalition with the Liberal Democrats, who – despite losing one third of their MPs – still held the balance of power.

Most expected the talks to run reasonably smoothly. After all, hadn’t Nick Clegg promised to seek a deal with the party which won the most votes and seats?

But, quickly, obstacles sprang up, notably Lib Dem support for faster deficit reduction, on which the party had been joined at the hip with the Conservatives for so long.

As the talks ground on, with rumours of angry rows, Labour voices arguing against Coalition and for Mr Miliband to strike out on his own grew louder.

MPs and activists demanded to know why Mr Clegg – their hate-figure, blamed for propping up a right-wing Tory government for five, painful years – was calling the shots?

As along ago as April 2014, one North-East MP had said: “If we fall short of a majority, I’ll be arguing for minority Government, not a deal with the bloody Lib Dems.”

It all came to a head at a stormy meeting of the parliamentary party, when Mr Miliband was all-but-ordered to call off the talks and patch together a deal with the minority parties instead.

But those negotiations proved no easier.

The Scottish Nationalists, buoyed by only a narrow “No” vote in the independence referendum, demanded a colossal further power transfer that Labour could not sanction.

In the power vacuum that followed, the markets delivered their panicky verdict – a twin collapse of both the pound and the stock market, triggering media howls for “stable Government” and fast.

Then Mr Clegg announced he was, reluctantly of course, stepping up Coalition talks with David Cameron, saying: “We have strained every sinew to reach agreement with Labour but, sadly, that now looks impossible.”

In contrast, the Lib-Con discussions were a breeze. One stumbling block had been Lib Dem demands for a mansion tax, something Mr Cameron had vetoed because “our donors will never put up with it”.

But, back in April 2014, Mr Clegg’s party had suddenly dumped the policy, replacing it with vague plans for extra council tax bands, which the Tories supported.

Few paid attention to this U-turn – on the day of Maria Miller’s headline-grabbing Cabinet resignation – but it proved significant 13 months later. Agreed on their puny “wealth tax”, deficit targets and the scale of spending cuts, and with years of working closely together behind them, the momentum was unstoppable. Tory right-wingers had vowed “never again” to Coalition, but Mr Cameron played his trump card – that EU referendum – and opposition melted away.

Entering No.10 together once again, a chuckling Prime Minister turned to his deputy to say: “Back to work then, Nick.”

“Like we’ve never been away, David,” came the happy reply.