British experiment with coalition government
Friday, 14 May 2010
GREAT Britain is passing through an extraordinary time, politically. The May 06 general election produced a hung parliament. The uncertainties regarding the formation of a new government were over in five days of negotiations among the political parties. The Liberal Democratic Party, the third biggest party, negotiated with both the Conservative Party, which won the most seats, and the Labour Party which won the second highest number of seats. The Liberal Democrats eventually reached a deal with the Conservatives on May 12 that prompted Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown to resign, ending the 13 years of Labour rule. The Conservatives returned to power after 13 years and the Liberal Democrats got the opportunity to share power after 70 years. Britain got a coalition government for the first time since the 1940-45 War Cabinet led by Winston Churchill. On paper, at least, the UK has now got a stable government as the coalition will enjoy a comfortable majority of 77 in a 650-member House of Commons.
In their first joint press conference at the 10 Downing Street on May 13, the new Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron and Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg pledged to take Britain "in a historic new direction, a direction of hope and unity, conviction and common purpose." Three key principles of their administration will be "freedom, fairness and responsibility." And the key purpose will be "to give our country the strong and stable and determined leadership that we need for the long-term." These unquestionably are noble ideas, projecting in the future.
Of immediate relevance is, however, the observation that the new British Foreign Secretary William Hague made in a BBC interview. He said that their government would be judged by whether "it really brings down the deficit, reforms taxes so there is a fairer tax system and improves the education system..." The British economy is in trouble. The governor of the Bank of England is reported to have confided in an American economist on the eve of the general election that "the spending cuts needed to get the nation back on track will be so severe that the winning party can expect to be cast into the political wilderness for a generation". In fact, the agreement between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, which runs into seven pages, prioritises fixing the economy. The new government will make an emergency budget within 50 days and a "significant acceleration" will be made to reduce the budget deficit -- spending reduction by £6.0 billion this year alone. These are tall tasks, affecting the whole British people and society. The new British government, according to the agreement between the coalition partners, will put a cap on non-EU migration. This is not good news for Bangladesh and other Commonwealth countries.
This Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government will be a new kind of political experience for the British. Prime Minister Cameron has made a prescient observation that, their government could mark an "historic and seismic shift" in British politics. Deputy Prime Minister Clegg, who is in charge of political reforms including the introduction of fixed-term parliaments, is more specific. He has said: "I hope this is the start of the new politics I have always believed in -- diverse, plural, where politicians of different persuasions come together, overcome their differences in order to deliver good government for the sake of the whole country." The British are, however, historically non-enthusiastic about coalition governments. This is actually for the first time that two British parties have formed a coalition government in which the primary issue has been the sharing of power. Westminster-type of parliamentary system is traditionally about party governments. The experiments with coalition politics, alternative voting system and fixed-term parliaments will possibly keep the British political arena agitated and restive for the whole period of Cameron-Clegg government.
In their first joint press conference at the 10 Downing Street on May 13, the new Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron and Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg pledged to take Britain "in a historic new direction, a direction of hope and unity, conviction and common purpose." Three key principles of their administration will be "freedom, fairness and responsibility." And the key purpose will be "to give our country the strong and stable and determined leadership that we need for the long-term." These unquestionably are noble ideas, projecting in the future.
Of immediate relevance is, however, the observation that the new British Foreign Secretary William Hague made in a BBC interview. He said that their government would be judged by whether "it really brings down the deficit, reforms taxes so there is a fairer tax system and improves the education system..." The British economy is in trouble. The governor of the Bank of England is reported to have confided in an American economist on the eve of the general election that "the spending cuts needed to get the nation back on track will be so severe that the winning party can expect to be cast into the political wilderness for a generation". In fact, the agreement between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, which runs into seven pages, prioritises fixing the economy. The new government will make an emergency budget within 50 days and a "significant acceleration" will be made to reduce the budget deficit -- spending reduction by £6.0 billion this year alone. These are tall tasks, affecting the whole British people and society. The new British government, according to the agreement between the coalition partners, will put a cap on non-EU migration. This is not good news for Bangladesh and other Commonwealth countries.
This Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government will be a new kind of political experience for the British. Prime Minister Cameron has made a prescient observation that, their government could mark an "historic and seismic shift" in British politics. Deputy Prime Minister Clegg, who is in charge of political reforms including the introduction of fixed-term parliaments, is more specific. He has said: "I hope this is the start of the new politics I have always believed in -- diverse, plural, where politicians of different persuasions come together, overcome their differences in order to deliver good government for the sake of the whole country." The British are, however, historically non-enthusiastic about coalition governments. This is actually for the first time that two British parties have formed a coalition government in which the primary issue has been the sharing of power. Westminster-type of parliamentary system is traditionally about party governments. The experiments with coalition politics, alternative voting system and fixed-term parliaments will possibly keep the British political arena agitated and restive for the whole period of Cameron-Clegg government.