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United Kingdom coalition government (2010–2015)

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See also: Cameron Ministry

The Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition is the present Government of the United Kingdom, formed after the 2010 general election, which had ended in a hung parliament with the Conservatives having the most seats but no party having an overall majority.

The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats entered into discussions which culminated in the 2010 coalition agreement, setting out a programme for government until the next general election, scheduled for 2015. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats both wanted to be 'green governments' with Nick Clegg spearheading electoral reform. Michael Gove led efforts to reform education to 'drive up education standards'. The Coalition Government also led efforts to help the Arab Spring, most notably pushing for NATO action on the Libyan civil war. In 2012, a consultation to legalize same-sex marriage was opened. In 2012, the coalition government also introduced plans to monitor the emails of all UK citizens.

Following two consecutive quarters of negative growth, the UK entered a double-dip recession in the first quarter of 2012.

Coalition agreement

Main article: Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement

The initial agreement between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats spelled out eleven key areas on which the coalition would focus.

  1. Deficit reduction
  2. A spending review - concerning the National Health Service, schools and a "fairer society"
  3. Tax measures
  4. Banking reform
  5. Immigration
  6. Political reform (including changes to the electoral system)
  7. Pensions and welfare
  8. Education
  9. The UK's relationship with the European Union
  10. Civil liberties
  11. The environment

A final agreement followed.

Coalition members

Main articles: Cameron ministry and Premiership of David Cameron

Following the general election on 6 May 2010 ending in a hung parliament, negotiations took place between the Liberal Democrats and the governing Labour Party (led by Gordon Brown), and between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. It became clear that Labour and the Liberal Democrats could not form a coalition government, while David Cameron made a "big, open, comprehensive offer" to the Liberal Democrats to form a coalition with them. Having agreed on a coalition, David Cameron (Con) accepted the Queen's invitation on 11 May 2010 to form the government as Prime Minister, with George Osborne (Con) as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, William Hague (Con) as the Foreign Secretary, Theresa May (Con) as Home Secretary, while other key positions went to Nick Clegg (LibDem) as the Deputy Prime Minister, Liam Fox (Con) as Defence Secretary, Michael Gove (Con) as Education Secretary, Andrew Lansley (Con) as Health Secretary, Vince Cable (LibDem) as Business Secretary and Kenneth Clarke (Con) as Justice Secretary. The Constitution Unit conducted a year-long research project into the coalition, interviewing 120 Parliamentarians, civil servants and ministers, and concluded that the coalition hasn’t been beset by partisan rancour but has been remarkably stable and decisive.

Policy changes introduced

2010 budget

Main article: June 2010 United Kingdom Budget
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2010)

Public spending cuts

Main article: United Kingdom Conservative-Liberal coalition government austerity programme
NHS Job Shop in Kentish Town closed due to spending cuts

The coalition has instituted public spending cuts, in an attempt to reduce the ongoing deficit of the UK government. The closure programme was initially focused upon public bodies funded by government, often known as quangos, which were abolished or merged. By July 2010, a total of 54 such bodies had either been abolished or had their funding withdrawn. In October 2010 a list of 192 quangos to be abolished was officially released, with 118 to be merged. These include:

In addition, several agencies will merge:

A number of agencies including the Student Loans Company and the Central Office of Information were marked 'Under consideration' in the official Government release, subject to future reviews by the end of 2010.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2010)

The coalition has also closed a number of programmes or services provided directly by Government Departments, such as the public health National Support Teams.

Legislation enacted

The following acts have been passed:

Legislation proposed

The following bills have been introduced:

Scandals

  • Liam Fox was involved in a lobbying scandal after taking his friend Adam Werritty on trips abroad to meetings.
  • University tuition fees were trebled to a maximum of £9,000 per year even though Nick Clegg had pledged not to increase fees in his election campaign.
  • The News of the World phone hacking scandal caused considerable damage to the Coalition in relation to David Cameron's employment of Andy Coulson. It was further aggravated by the announcement he had ridden Rebekah Brooks horse on loan from the Metropolitan Police, and the implicit involvement of Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, whom had been handed jurisdiction over Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB bid after Vince Cable's supposed expression of bias, in passing confidential information to the Murdoch empire regarding the bid's progress
  • In November 2011 Home Secretary Theresa May came under heavy criticism for presiding over a scheme weakening UK border controls, and allowing potential terrorists into the country unchecked. Some of the blame also fell on (now former) Head of the UK border force Brodie Clark, whom May claimed went beyond his remit.
  • Vince Cable was removed from a quasi-judicial role in deciding whether BSkyB should be allowed to takeover control of Sky, after being accused of bias against News Corporation, the company which owns BSkyB.
  • Peter Cruddas was caught red-handed by undercover journalists from the Sunday Times, offering special access to the Prime Minister in exchange for cash.
  • Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt allegedly colluded with News Corporation during their takeover bid for BSkyB, by exchanging ostensibly supportive emails with Frédéric Michel, News Corp’s director of public affairs. Hunt chose not to refer the takeover bid to the Competititon Commission.

See also

References

  1. "UK economy in double-dip recession". BBC News. 25 April 2012.
  2. Interim agreement (pdf).
  3. Final agreement (pdf)
  4. http://www.ethosjournal.com/home/item/269-ruling-by-consensus
  5. ^ Nigel Morris One by one, the quangos are abolished. But at what cost? The Independent, 27 July 2010
  6. Staff writer (14 October 2010). "Quango list shows 192 to be axed". BBC News. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
  7. HM Government (14 October 2010). "PUBLIC BODIES REFORM – PROPOSALS FOR CHANGE" (PDF). Directgov. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
  8. "Government Bills before Parliament 2010-12". UK Parliament Website.
  9. "Government Bills before Parliament 2010-11". UK Parliament Website.
  10. "Nick Clegg admits breaking tuition fees pledge". BBC.
  11. "The BSkyB takeover emails". BBC. 25 April 2012.
  12. "Theresa May plays blame game on UK border controls". The Week. Retrieved 19 August 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. "Taking Vince Cable off the BSkyB case". Retrieved 19 August 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17503116/. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

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