A strength and a weakness

2trueblue

James, do I understand you correctly that Millipede is in a stronger position because he has now bolted the stable door, after the horse bolted? He now needs new reins and a different mouthpiece.

Broadly speaking the electorate does not like the coalition, but there is no other choice right now. They are the only show in town and they are trying to get their act together and drag this country out of the mire. So far so good, only in that Liebore was so bankrupt in every way the coalition has some merits.

DavidDP

"He has now dragged his shadow Chancellor into line on a graduate tax, giving Labour a position from which to oppose the coalition."

I guess you missed Ed's comment that he can't promise to reverse the fee rise and introduce a grad tax. Not quite a strong attacking position, that.....

ollie

Red Miliband is a piece of swarthy Marxist filth.

Verity

"There’s a danger that the public come to see coalition as an arrangement that just allows both parties to worm out of their manifesto commitments...".

That is correct. That is how people view it.

A coalition government should be permissible in wartime, to ensure that the major parties are pulling together, but it is absurd to reward a party that couldn't even win an election with the gift of governance.

There should have been a second election. We could afford it by taking a few million out of "overseas aid" to corrupt politicians in Africa.

Woody

He has NOT dragged his shadow chancellor into line.

Mr & Mrs Balls are on manoeuvres and there is anarchy on the left.

Lets have a little more scrutiny on Labour.

Verityred

Er....stronger position? The graduate tax will backfire, as a policy it is completely unformed. Milliband fluffs it every time he is required to actually explain anything.

The panda eyed vacuum is hopeless.

charles hercock

The argument on student financing is gone and lightweight Ed will try to revisit in vain

Rhoda Klapp

In no sense should this post be regarded as a rehash of ideas which have been wrung out here for pretty much as long as the coalition has been going. Oh no.

Dennis Churchill

It also reinforces the impression of government by a political class that share few beliefs with their nominal parties.
A political class, I would add, that does not seem to have much ability when it comes to actually governing the country.

Holly ......

James.
The coalition is strong,not just because it is two parties working together,but because the Conservative ministers will be supporting the Lib Dem ministers.
Unlike how the likes of bully Bozo & Balls would have treated them.
Your use of language is typical of the media today and that is what the public are cottoning on to.
For example,"Worm their way out of their
manifesto commitments".
Manifestos are a ROUGH guide as to a direction the party wants to go,and until now have NEVER been stuck to or written in stone.The public know that.
As for Ed-What is the best his lot can offer us?
A defence review.
Too late you morons,the government has just had one.
Labour and the left are the busted flush,NOT the Lib Dems,Nick Clegg or the coalition.
Must be a real downer trying to push s*** through your straw.
Nice try though.

justathought

Obama has now received the full backing from Ex-President Clinton for tax cuts to be extended for another two years to everyone, including the top bracket. The key to this is compromise. One can only hope that the coalition can reach agreement to put forward a similar agenda for the UK. In addition the Obama administration has extended the tax threshold for inheritance tax to $5m and lowered the rate there after. Dito for corporation tax. The US have failed in addressing their deficit reduction which is in contrast to the coalitions strategy.

The combination of reducing the burden of the state and giving consumers and business an opportunity to retain more of their earnings must surely be grounds for agreement between the coalition members?

libertarian

"This is something, broadly speaking, the electorate likes" err Is that so? I would have thought that the electorate would like a party to stand on a manifesto that they broadly agree with, win a majority and implement said manifesto. In fact we got NONE of those things

lids

I don't know anyone who wants to increase the overseas aid budget at the expense of educating our own children..

Pettros

what I really love is that on tuition fees the coalition has clobbered the people who voted for them - the English. The Cons got about 3 votes in Scotland but we are getting of scot-free for higher education. As a scotsman this is quite amusing. Plus you still let our scots (mostly inept)politicians vote on things which wont affect Scotland! You couldnt make it up. If i were english I would be seriously peeved.

Norman Dee

I don't know why you all keep on about "Manifestos", they went out of the window when nobody got an overall majority. They immediately became aspirations which were always going to be tenuous. Both sides have to put some effort into it,because there is no going back. another election now would be the death knell for the Lib Dems simply because you lot have kept screaming about broken promises, and "worming out of manifestos", and as we have seen from the polls their votes are likely to go back to labour, and all because you wanted some headlines.

Fergus Pickering

Does anyone except you lot actually read manifestos. The longer they get the more fictional they are. I vote conservative out of blind faith plus blood loyalty. Cameron (Eton and Oxford) is just the kind of leader I expect. That Rory feller (Eton and Oxford) looks the goods. David Davis is a good egg but not quite, well, you know, leadership material. Like Lord Tebbit, don't you know. You can't expect a woman to have gone to Eton (though they now do, don't they?) but La Thatch was Oxford and she did speak nice. One has to have something to aspire to.

TomTom

"I vote conservative out of blind faith plus blood loyalty"

Yes, and you must be over >60 to have that attitude. Rational people nowadays simply don't define themselves by tribal loyalties and cling to class prejudices as you so obviously do.

The world is much more dynamic outside the confines of sclerotic party allegiances and ready for a significant realignment away from corpocracy and rule by larcenists