Policy Research Media Morhamburn

So, Mr Cameron’s ‘big, open and comprehensive’ offer to the Liberal Democrats worked.  We have the first coalition government in nearly 70 years leading the UK and it only took 6 days to form.  This is significantly less than the European average of 39 days – their leaders must not care about national interest as ours.

Certainly, the last few days have been extraordinary.  The Liberal Democrats offered the Conservatives the chance to form the government given they won the largest number of seats and the biggest % of the vote this was only right.  Then, in a strange turn of events they seemed willing to sound out Labour over a potential ‘Rainbow’ coalition to see if they could get a better deal.  Luckily it seems Labour knew they were a defeated party and negotiations largely never got of the ground.

Then on Tuesday everything went into overdrive.  The Prime Minister Gordon Brown went to the Queen to tender his resignation and recommend that David Cameron be offered the chance to form a new government – how that must have killed him.  From there on out the TV cameras and helicopters were fixed on Downing Street and Buckingham Palace as the ConLib (or LibCon, ConDem, Conocrat) coalition took shape.  Yesterday we were treated to a picture of Prime Minister Cameron meeting Deputy PM Nick Clegg at the door to Number 10 looking as excited as a schoolboy who was allowed to have his best friend stay over.

Later that afternoon we got to see the new double act in action.  Standing side by side, podium to podium with side partings running the same way they declared that this was what ‘new’ politics looked like.  They claimed to have put political differences aside to act for the good of our nation. 

I’m sure they did, but the pair of them have done very well out of it.  David Cameron has benefited from the best graduate scheme in the country joining the Conservative Research Department from Oxford rising to Prime Minister.  And Nick Clegg has gone from being a relative no one to the British public prior to the televised debates to being second in command of the country.  Not bad for putting country first.

But, have they done the right thing?  Well David Cameron has got the Conservatives into power.  They may not have a majority themselves, but this was the end goal.  Also, by tying the Liberals to his party for the next five years he is effectively taking away one of the opposition parties.  Whereas in the past they would have been under attack from Labour and the Lib Dems, now the Lib Dems will be defending the Tory record in power as it is also their own.

What about Nick Clegg?  He’s taken his centre-left party into a deal with the Conservatives.  A lot of Liberal supporters perhaps spawned out of disillusionment with Labour and may find they go back to Labour after this.  Secondly, the Lib Dems who do stand by his decision will demand a change in the electoral system.  The problem with this is that they’re only going to get a referendum on change and the Conservatives can campaign against this.  Anything less than a win and supporters will desert the party.  Thirdly he’s tied himself to the Tories to the next five years, Tory failures are his failures.  Irrespective of policy differences now they will be judged by their joint record in government.

And then there’s Scotland.  Now we find decisions being taken on our behalf by a party that was third in the popular vote in Scotland and a party that was last in vote and in seats.  The SNP and Scottish Labour will cry that such a coalition has no mandate over Scotland.  However, Scots voted overwhelmingly for unionist parties and this was a UK general election.  Scotland is a part of the UK and as such, claims that a Tory UK government has no mandate over us are like the North East of England claiming the Tory UK government has no mandate over them.  We are part of the sum that makes up the UK.

So, we now look forward to Holyrood.  Labour, out of power at Westminster, will undoubtedly be focused on wrestling the Scottish Parliament back from the SNP.  Their showing at the general election shows that Scotland still has a lot of support for Labour. 

However, should the occasion arise would they be so inclined to enter a coalition with the Scottish Liberal Democrats?  Could they work together given that their UK counterparts are in direct opposition to each other?  Will the SNP be able to use the anti-conservative sentiment to their advantage?  Can they show the Scottish electorate enough in this year that they can work for Scotland with the ConLib coalition?  And what of the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives?  Will their message change to mirror that of the one coming out of Westminster?

One thing is for certain this isn’t the end.  It’s only just begun.

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