Deputy Prime Minister the Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP.
Read that again. Say it aloud: it has a nice ring to it.
For the first time, there are Liberal Democrats in government. For the first time in decades our country is run by a coalition.
From what we know of the coalition’s objectives so far, the tax-free allowance for income tax will be raised to £10,000. Inheritance tax will be left as it stands. Trident will not be cut. We will have fixed-term parliaments.
These policies are in many ways sensible. They are in many ways progressive. Most importantly, they illustrate a genuine compromise between the policies of the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. They both want to make this work.
Let’s clear something up: a Lib-Lab-Green-Plaid-SNP-Irish coalition was always, at best, improbable. Even with all of those parties cooperating in principal, it would be just mathematically possible to outvote the Conservatives. In order to govern they would have needed completely effective whipping. On a whim, any one rebel MP would have been able to destabilise the coalition – and ultimately the country.
They would have had plenty of reasons to rebel. Such a coalition would have required massive compromise from all sides and MPs voting for policies that they had argued strongly against. If ever it were able to exist, it would have been incredibly fragile.
It could therefore only have served one purpose: to pass legislation on electoral reform. But that purpose is not something all of those parties approve of, or something many of those MPs stood on a platform for. Many in Labour’s ranks are more than happy with first-past-the-post. If they were not then it would not be our electoral system: they have had plenty of opportunity (and mandate) to reform it.
It would also take time to deliver such reform – time during which our government would have been on the brink of collapse. All in the context of an ongoing financial crisis. Can anyone seriously argue this would be in the national interest?
We must accept that Labour lost the election. Of all the parties, the Conservatives got the most votes and the most seats. They have the best mandate to govern, but those who fear their policies should be reassured. The Conservatives’ policies are now tempered by the Liberal Democrats. Opposition will provide Labour with desperately-needed fresh air and opportunity to rethink its policies.
From my own perspective, for the first time in nearly a century a government is in power that appears to support the freedom of individuals both in the sense of their civil liberties but also their economic freedom. It is a perspective that has been wholly absent during the past decade which saw hard-won freedoms slowly surrendered.
More progress has been made than anyone could have reasonably predicted. We have entered a new era of cooperation politics. Give the coalition a chance – you might find you quite like the way it works.
What do you think of a the Lib-Con pact? Do you think it will work?
Law & Mash 