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Category: Coalition

Should Clegg have gone for the Picasso – not turquoise strategy?

Should Clegg have gone for the Picasso – not turquoise strategy?

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Picasso – Night fishing at Antibes Was this the way of keeping the LDs distinctive? With the continuing Lib Dem falling poll shares, the Vince Cable affair and the ongoing reverberations from the student fees decision there’ve been some fascinating posts on PB about what went wrong and the strategy the party might have followed. One of the most insightful came overnight from long-standing poster, Yellow Submarine in which he looked to the art world for inspiration. The 2010 result…

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Is there a political price to pay for this?

Is there a political price to pay for this?

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What should ministers do when everything’s bu**ered up? Like many PBers, no doubt, the inclement weather is having a big impact on my life. As I write this it is -11C outside, our pipes are frozen up so that we’ve no water to even flush the loos, and for the third day running we might have to postpone our long planned family Christmas get-together. These are just about the worst winter conditions that I’ve experienced in the UK in my…

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Jonathan’s Sunday Slot in the coalition’s future

Jonathan’s Sunday Slot in the coalition’s future

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Could we see posters like this? A big question hanging over politics is the possibility of a formal Lib Dem Conservative pact at the next general election. How likely do we think it is? Whether you are a political punter or involved in politics, until this question is resolved, it is impossible to make any long term predictions. Senior Conservatives have certainly been flirting with the idea in public. To date Nick Boles MP has been the ringleader. In his…

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Is Labour’s return next time almost a foregone conclusion?

Is Labour’s return next time almost a foregone conclusion?

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Guardian What do we think of Polly’s election prediction? Although the next general election might not take place until May 2015 there’s what amounts to a big prediction by Guardian columnist, Polly Toynbee, in the paper this morning. Talking about a “red carpet of opportunity” awaiting Labour she declares that “Cameron will be doomed by his cuts and Clegg by his betrayal.” In fact Polly is so confident is about what’s going to happen that she’s now referring to “Labour…

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How will the riots change the debate?

How will the riots change the debate?

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What’s the political impact of the troubles on the streets? A main reason the Lib Dems were keen to get the fees vote over and done with as soon as possible was that they can put it behind them as the narrative moves on which, thanks to the riots, it certainly is doing. The split on the issue has happened but the party’s government ministers stuck with the policy and the overall number of yellow MPs voting for it was…

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Fees vote to go ahead after Labour filibuster fails

Fees vote to go ahead after Labour filibuster fails

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Bit will the government have enough votes? A last ditch attempt by Labour MPs to stop tonight’s controversial vote on university fees going ahead broke down late last night after government whips manage to round-up hundreds of coalition MPs to stop a filibuster attempt. The plan had to keep the Wednesday sitting going by prolonging debate until 7am this morning. If they had got to that stage then today’s business would have had to be abandoned under the the procedures…

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Will the Clegg loyalists fare better at the general election?

Will the Clegg loyalists fare better at the general election?

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Will the YES voters be more likely to hold on? With just two days to go before the big vote on student fees the Lib Dem parliamentary party has been meeting to hear their leader, the deputy prime minister and “Parliamentarian of the Year”, Nick Clegg. He told them it would be “better to walk through the fire together” to support the policy and confirmed that he would personally vote for the proposals. This is a big decision for each…

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The fees protests: a student view

The fees protests: a student view

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A guest slot by Gerard Tully – in his final year at Cambridge I should make clear that while I am not involved in the Cambridge occupation, many people I know are. As someone who is strongly skeptical about whether students can really be motivated, this wave of occupation and protest is looking to me more and more like a game-changer. The number of student occupations is growing by the day – now a list including Cambridge, Oxford, UCL, LSE,…

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