There’s long been a certain amount of speculation in Westminster about how long the coalition will last. This topic used to be the sole preserve of those who were sceptics of it; it was a question hoping for the answer not that long. Enthusiasts for coalition, took it as a given that it would last to 2015. But today Matthew Parris, one of the commentators who has been most welcoming of the coalition, writes, ‘I’m close to despair and no longer confident that the coalition can continue even into next year.’
When even the coalition’s friends are saying this, then it is time for the Prime Minister and deputy Prime Minister to take notice.
The immediate cause of Matthew’s despair is how Nick Clegg is insisting on pushing on with Lords reform even though it has such a small chance of success. But there’s a broader sense that the coalition has lost its way; that it has become such zero-sum game that it struggles to take big decisions.
This feeling is only going to be reinforced by the fact that social care appears to be heading for the long grass. Also the fact that the Prime Minister’s big ideas now seem to come in speeches and articles discussing the post-coalition landscape is hardly a ringing endorsement for the coalition’s ability to craft new policies from within government.
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