UK’s new coalition government – David Cameron and Nick Clegg

A new dream pairing to resemble Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin? Or a nightmare partnership to rival AOL and Time Warner? It all depends on whether Cameron’s and Clegg’s plans for the UK are seen rebuilding the economy or destroying its growth potential.

David Cameron and Nick Clegg have formed the UK’s first coalition government since the Second World War. An unlikely alliance, perhaps, as it brings together the right-leaning Conservative Party with the Liberal Democrats, seen by many as a centre party, but with an ideology that some argue is further to the left than the Labour Party.
 
Certainly, the three televised debates saw the leaders of the three main parties aggressively attack each other’s policies. However, since the General Election delivered no clear mandate for any party, it appeared that Cameron and Clegg seemed the most likely partnership to succeed in coalition talks.
 
Indeed, the parties have come together remarkably quickly to agree a series of policies that seem agreeable to most within their parties. Top of the list is a pledge to fix the parliamentary term to five years, with separate plans to diminish the power of party whips and to create a formal register of parliamentary lobbyists. They’ve had to compromise too: Tory plans to introduce a tax break for married couples won’t happen, while the Lib Dems desire to raise the capital gains tax on certain assets such as buy-to-let properties will come into force. The Tories have also been thwarted on proposals to raise the threshold on inheritance tax but have convinced the Liberals of the need to enact deficit-cutting measures now.
 
Perhaps we shouldn’t be altogether surprised that Cameron and Clegg are working together. They have as much in common as not. Both were educated at expensive public schools (Eton and Westminster) and at Oxbridge universities, both belong to families with impressive careers in the City of London, and although Clegg sits at the helm of the Liberal Democrats, he was a member of the Cambridge University Conservative Association. Instinctively, these men would seem to have enough in common to do business together.
Will it last? Will the coalition work? Well, we can look to Europe for evidence of success - German coalitions have been the norm since world war two and Italy has had more than 60 governments over the same period.
 
So far, the coalition has been moving quickly to make the most of the feel-good factor that surrounds all new governments for a short time. They have announced plans to cut £6.2 billion in spending this year alone, and held an emergency Budget on 22nd June. They have also worked quickly to cobble together a 30-page manifesto that combines their policies. The Queen’s Speech, held on 25th May, stated plans for a referendum on voting reform, reform of the House of Lords (the upper house of the UK Parliament), reconnecting pensions with earnings (instead of inflation) and privatisation of the Royal Mail postal service.
 
A big agenda lies ahead for this new Government. Let’s hope they have plenty of energy; coalitions are often tiring and taxing due to constant negotiating and horse-trading. Luckily, the new leaders are young and seemingly energetic.