As Britain wakes up this morning to a likely hung parliament, Investment Week examines the key issues threatening a cross-party coalition.

At about 7am, there were more than 500 General Election results in out of 650. The BBC is predicting a hung parliament with the Tories as the largest party.

Labour cannot now win a majority, but it is not clear which party will be in a position to form a government.

Economy

Labour - "Frontline investment" in schools, childcare, the NHS and policing protected to ensure recovery, before "tough decisions" to more than halve deficit by next General Election.

Conservatives - Immediate spending cuts of £6bn in first year, with only NHS and foreign aid protected

Lib Dems - Cut £15bn a year, with promise to cut deficit at least as fast as Labour

FLASH POINT: Speed to cut deficit

Tax

Labour - National Insurance (NI) rise of 1% from April 2011; higher rate earners now pay 50% tax on income

Conservatives- Inheritance threshold limit raised to £1m; scrap Labour's 1% NI rise for low-mid earners; two year council tax freeze; corporation tax cut

Lib Dems - Scrap income tax on first £10,000 per year; homes worth above £2m to pay 1% "mansion tax"

FLASH POINT: NI rise

Health

Labour - Cancer patients to see a specialist within two weeks; good hospitals to takeover failing ones to raise standards; free five year health checks for people aged 40-74.

Conservatives - Up spending above inflation until 2015; link GPs pay to results; change targets from waiting time to "cutting deaths from cancer" etc.

Lib Dems - Create local health boards with power to stop hospital closures; let patients register at more than one practice; encourage dentists back to the NHS

FLASH POINT: Increased NHS spending

Education

Labour - More city academies; increase free nursery hours to 15 per week for three to five year-olds; £10,000 "golden handcuffs" to attract teachers to worst schools

Conservatives - Parents and charities to set up own schools; Parents able to takeover schools facing closure; Allow teachers to use "reasonable force" to deal with violence; Scrap student exclusion appeals

Lib Dems - Bring city academies under local council control; replace National Curriculum to give teachers more freedom; scrap target of 50% attending university

FLASH POINT: Parent-owned schools

Defence

Labour - Begin troop pull-out in Afghanistan in Q4 2011; committed to building two aircraft carriers and replacing Trident nuclear deterrent

Conservatives - Keep troops in Afghanistan; replace Trident; cut Ministry of Defence spending by 25%; double bonuses for troops serving in Afghanistan

Lib Dem - Scrap plans to replace Trident and buy Eurofighter jets; Pull troops out of Afghanistan before next Parliament

FLASH POINT: Trident replacement

Immigration

Labour - Tighten UK's points-based entry system for non-EU citizens; require migrants speak English before entry

Conservatives - Reduce net annual immigration from "hundreds of thousands" to "tens of thousands"; unspecified annual limit for non-EU migrants; crackdown on student visa abuse

Lib Dem - Regional quotas for migrants to match UK employment needs; amnesty for illegal immigrants who have lived in UK for more than a decade in return for community service; allow asylum seekers to work

FLASH POINT: Level of immigration cap

Crime

Labour - Failing police forces to be taken over by successful ones, or chief constable replaced; parenting orders for those whose children breach ASBOs

Conservatives - Replace police authorities with directly elected police commissioners; change law to protect "have-a-go-heroes" defending themselves against attackers

Lib Dem - 3,000 more police officers; annual fitness test for officers; replace short prison sentences with community services to ease prison crowding

FLASH POINT: Short prison terms