Nick Clegg tonight set out the first of his 'red lines ' for a second coalition , warning he will block any cut in education spending . The Liberal Democrats admitted today that their best hope is to end up with 30-something MPs after May 7 , compared with the 57 elected in 2010 . A senior party source said their best chance of holding the balance of power after the General Election was to finish 'in the 30s ' if they are able to retain a number of closely-fought seats . Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg , making play dough at Tops Day Nursery , Corfe Mullen in Dorset , said he would demand education spending be protected from cuts as the price of propping up another coalition . Mr Clegg said the first of what he dubbed his 'Premier League policies ' is a £5billion commitment to protect the entire education budget in real terms . But Mr Clegg is still determined to form a coalition with either the Conservatives or Labour and today vowed to set out which of the policies announced in his manifesto would be non-negotiable . The first of what he dubbed his 'Premier League policies ' , which the party would insist upon as a condition of propping up a government , is a £5billion commitment to protect the entire education budget in real terms . It would mean raising spending on education every year from 2018 onwards and at all stages 'from cradle to college ' , which goes further than the Tories or Labour have promised . Mr Clegg said : ' I can confirm a Liberal Democrat red line – a pre-condition for Government – is increasing spending on education . 'The Liberal Democrats will not allow our children and grandchildren to pay the price of this generation 's mistakes . We believe above all else in spreading opportunity , in tearing down the barriers that stop people from reaching their potential . Nothing is more crucial to that than education . ' The Lib Dem leader - who claimed just last week that he would not set out 'red lines ' - said people felt 'confused ' about the outcome of the election and he wanted to be 'clear and certain ' about his party 's intentions . The pledge would mean raising spending on education every year from 2018 onwards and at all stages 'from cradle to college ' , which goes further than the Tories or Labour have promised . The Liberal Democrats admitted today that their best hope is to end up with 30-something MPs after May 7 , compared with the 57 elected in 2010 . Inviting criticism that the rest of his policies are all negotiable , he said he would fight for everything in the manifesto but that 'here are some Premier League policies and others which do n't assume quite the same significance ' . ' I will confirm the non-negotiables , the deal breakers , the things without which we would not enter into a coalition government and I 'll do so fairly rapidly over the next few days ' , he said . Mr Clegg 's policy is £5billion more expensive that what the Conservatives had planned – which is a freeze on schools spending for those aged 5 to 16 and cuts in other areas . It is £2.5bn more than Labour planned to spend on protecting the entire education budget but not accounting for an expected 460,000 rise in pupil numbers over the next five years . 'The next Government must increase spending on nurseries , schools and colleges . That means education spending must rise with both prices and pupil numbers ' , he said . 'Without investment in education , there can be no deal with the Liberal Democrats . ' The pledge would take education funding from £49bn a year currently to more than £55 by the end of the next Parliament , to be funded by rising economic growth once the deficit is cleared . A promise on education spending is intended to win over floating voters in key seats where the Lib Dems are facing the Tories , to capitalise on concerns about cuts to public services . A senior lib dem involved in party strategy said the campaign 's focus was increasingly on 10 to 15 marginal seats . Mr Clegg would not comment on numbers of seats and simply said his party would do better than dire opinion polls suggest .
Clegg names the first of his 'Premier League policies ' as price of support . Would mean raising spending on education every year from 2018 onwards . Nick Clegg say it covers every stage of education 'from cradle to college ' But insiders admit the party could lose as many as 20 seats on May 7 .