At last the long wait of the Britons is over. After five days of negotiations, the Tories under David Cameron and the Liberal Democrats under Nick Clegg have reached a deal. According to the deal, the Conservatives and Lib Dems will form a coalition government with David Cameron as the Prime Minister and Nick Clegg as the Deputy Prime Minister. The Lib Dems will also get 4 more cabinet posts. Gordon Brown left 10 Downing Street and its new resident David Cameron has occupied it.
In one of the most hardest fought elections in the recent past, the Tories under David Cameron got 306 seats, 20 less of an outright majority in the 650 member British Parliament. Labour party under Gordon Brown got just 258, while the Lib Dems got 57 seats, much less than what was expected after their leader Nick Clegg’s good performance in the election debate. The final deal between the Tories and the Lib Dems came after five days of intense negotiations between the leaders of both parties. While the Lib Dems were negotiating with the Tories, they simultaneously held discussions with the Labour Party leaders as well. The Lib Dems, with their centrist to centre-left outlook, are ideologically more close to the Labour having centre-left ideology. But at the same time they had issues with going together with the Labour because in the elections Labour was rejected by the people. Therefore any deal with the Labour would have shown the Lib Dems in poor light as they would have been accused by the media and the general public for having no appreciation for the people’s verdict.
It seems that Nick Clegg and his Lib Dems have gone for the most logical and safe option of going with the Conservatives. A coalition government with the Labour would have been difficult to maintain and to take forward as it would have been a minority government. Such a coalition, with 315 seats and with the support of lot of other smaller parties, would have faced many problems in passing laws in the Parliament because of their lack of numbers. Though both the Tories and the Lib Dems are upbeat about the coalition, they both know that it wouldn’t be easy for them to run the government as there would be difference in opinion on all major issues between them. But as Cameron said on arriving in Downing Street, both parties have to set aside party differences and work hard for national interests as they have many pressing problems to face.
According to the deal between the Conservatives and the Lib Dems a referendum will be held to bring in an alternative voting system, a major demand and poll promise of the Lib Dems. There will be new five-year fixed term Parliament, an entirely or mainly elected second chamber and a commission to review party funding. There will be reduction in the tax burden on low earners and a substantial increase in personal tax allowance with a long term goal of a £10,000 personal tax allowance. The Tories’ plan to reduce the inheritance tax, which would have mostly helped the richest people, has been scrapped. There will be more funding to schools for every pupil taken from poor homes in a bid to close class gap in school results. Meanwhile a cap on immigration will be set and Lib Dems proposal of amnesty on illegal immigration will be dumped. School reforms will be introduced with an emphasis on Swedish-style free schools. The commitment to keep Britain’s nuclear deterrent will be intact and there will be no proposal to join the euro. Also, there will be £6 billion cuts this financial year and a reversal of some planned rises in national insurance contributions.
For the Labour party, after 13 years in office, this is time for self-assessment. As Gordon Brown has resigned as the leader of the party, there will be a hunt for his successor. Now that the acting leader of the Labour party, Harriet Herman has effectively ruled herself out, there will be some contest within the party to choose the next leader. Alan Johnson and David Miliband and Ed Miliband are the front-runners for the post of leader of the Labour party. Labour has to redeem themselves from the criticisms they had to face while in power including the Iraq war, poor economic management, MPs expenses scandal, to name a few.
The coalition cabinet has been named in London with the confirmation coming from 10 Downing Street. Main cabinet positions have been announced with Theresa May as Home Secretary, Liam Fox as Defence Secretary, Kenneth Clarke as the Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor, George Osborne to the role of chancellor, William Hague as Foreign Secretary, Michael Gove as Education Secretary and Andrew Lansley as Health Secretary. Clegg's chief of staff, Danny Alexander, was announced as Scottish Secretary, Vince Cable as Business secretary and David Laws as Chief Secretary of Treasury.
Now that the political stalemate is over with the installation of a Tory-Lib Dems government and the naming of the cabinet positions in London, all eyes will be on how Cameron-Clegg duo move on with their governance with the very new coalition government. Britons would be hoping that the new government would be able to ride over the economic problems of the present day and bring about social changes and the much debated electoral reforms.
Courtesy: The Guardian
In one of the most hardest fought elections in the recent past, the Tories under David Cameron got 306 seats, 20 less of an outright majority in the 650 member British Parliament. Labour party under Gordon Brown got just 258, while the Lib Dems got 57 seats, much less than what was expected after their leader Nick Clegg’s good performance in the election debate. The final deal between the Tories and the Lib Dems came after five days of intense negotiations between the leaders of both parties. While the Lib Dems were negotiating with the Tories, they simultaneously held discussions with the Labour Party leaders as well. The Lib Dems, with their centrist to centre-left outlook, are ideologically more close to the Labour having centre-left ideology. But at the same time they had issues with going together with the Labour because in the elections Labour was rejected by the people. Therefore any deal with the Labour would have shown the Lib Dems in poor light as they would have been accused by the media and the general public for having no appreciation for the people’s verdict.
It seems that Nick Clegg and his Lib Dems have gone for the most logical and safe option of going with the Conservatives. A coalition government with the Labour would have been difficult to maintain and to take forward as it would have been a minority government. Such a coalition, with 315 seats and with the support of lot of other smaller parties, would have faced many problems in passing laws in the Parliament because of their lack of numbers. Though both the Tories and the Lib Dems are upbeat about the coalition, they both know that it wouldn’t be easy for them to run the government as there would be difference in opinion on all major issues between them. But as Cameron said on arriving in Downing Street, both parties have to set aside party differences and work hard for national interests as they have many pressing problems to face.
According to the deal between the Conservatives and the Lib Dems a referendum will be held to bring in an alternative voting system, a major demand and poll promise of the Lib Dems. There will be new five-year fixed term Parliament, an entirely or mainly elected second chamber and a commission to review party funding. There will be reduction in the tax burden on low earners and a substantial increase in personal tax allowance with a long term goal of a £10,000 personal tax allowance. The Tories’ plan to reduce the inheritance tax, which would have mostly helped the richest people, has been scrapped. There will be more funding to schools for every pupil taken from poor homes in a bid to close class gap in school results. Meanwhile a cap on immigration will be set and Lib Dems proposal of amnesty on illegal immigration will be dumped. School reforms will be introduced with an emphasis on Swedish-style free schools. The commitment to keep Britain’s nuclear deterrent will be intact and there will be no proposal to join the euro. Also, there will be £6 billion cuts this financial year and a reversal of some planned rises in national insurance contributions.
For the Labour party, after 13 years in office, this is time for self-assessment. As Gordon Brown has resigned as the leader of the party, there will be a hunt for his successor. Now that the acting leader of the Labour party, Harriet Herman has effectively ruled herself out, there will be some contest within the party to choose the next leader. Alan Johnson and David Miliband and Ed Miliband are the front-runners for the post of leader of the Labour party. Labour has to redeem themselves from the criticisms they had to face while in power including the Iraq war, poor economic management, MPs expenses scandal, to name a few.
The coalition cabinet has been named in London with the confirmation coming from 10 Downing Street. Main cabinet positions have been announced with Theresa May as Home Secretary, Liam Fox as Defence Secretary, Kenneth Clarke as the Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor, George Osborne to the role of chancellor, William Hague as Foreign Secretary, Michael Gove as Education Secretary and Andrew Lansley as Health Secretary. Clegg's chief of staff, Danny Alexander, was announced as Scottish Secretary, Vince Cable as Business secretary and David Laws as Chief Secretary of Treasury.
Now that the political stalemate is over with the installation of a Tory-Lib Dems government and the naming of the cabinet positions in London, all eyes will be on how Cameron-Clegg duo move on with their governance with the very new coalition government. Britons would be hoping that the new government would be able to ride over the economic problems of the present day and bring about social changes and the much debated electoral reforms.
Courtesy: The Guardian
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