The coalition's shifting horizons
James Forsyth 12:12pm
Nick Clegg’s speech today is meant to be one of a pair with David
Cameron giving the other tomorrow. The speeches mark an attempt to set out an agenda for the government that goes beyond deficit reduction. The idea is that Clegg’s speech called
‘horizon shift’, which is all about making government policy more long term, goes hand in hand with Cameron’s speech tomorrow on ‘power shift’, the government’s
plan to devolve power down. This twin-pronged approach came out of the political Cabinet at Chequers at the end of the last parliamentary term and a recognition that the coalition must be seen to
be doing more than just reducing the deficit.
In terms of political strategy, the next few weeks are crucial for the coalition. It needs to set out an agenda that goes beyond cuts before the cuts set out in the comprehensive spending review drown out everything else. It also must land some early blows on the new Labour leader who’ll be unveiled on the 25th.
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charles hercock
September 9th, 2010 12:55pm Report this commentWe can forget the new Labour leader,he will be dealing with the projected factionalism
Setting the agenda will need to get rid of the eggshells such as Coulson and injecting back the caring which may mean we need to see the back of Lansley
The pace has slowwed.We need to speed up again
Tim Carpenter LPUK
September 9th, 2010 4:36pm Report this commentSurely the priority for power shifting is one of repatriation of sovereignty before shifting power away from Westminster. Still, the agenda of "hollowing out" will continue, I guess, until some wag then says "what is it all for" and they turn The HoP into an exhibit.
TGF UKIP
September 9th, 2010 7:25pm Report this commentOf course if we had a Conservative Party government with a conservative as its leader, the "horizon shift" would be very simple and highly economically efficient.
The spending cuts would be accompanied by returning taxpayers money to taxpayers via substantial direct cuts in their income tax at every income level.
Ah, if only. But instead we have the present absurdity of a government with a progressive egalitarian tax and spender as its leader.
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