The Coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats is the first in Britain for over 80 years. Here we answer some of your frequently asked questions:
Why do we have a Coalition Government?
The House of Commons has 650 MPs. For a political party to gain a majority and form a Government alone they will need at least 326 MPs. At the May 2010 General Election no single party had a majority of seats. The voting public elected 306 Conservative MPs, 258 Labour MPs, 57 Lib Dem MPs and the rest were nationalist parties, a Green and Independents.
Why did the Liberal Democrats choose to go into coalition with the Conservatives?
Whenever asked about the possibility of a coalition partnership during the election period, Nick Clegg continuously asserted that the party with the most seats and the most votes would have the right to form the next Government.
The Conservatives won the most seats, and with the Liberal Democrats they would have been able to form a stable government. During coalition discussions the Conservatives agreed with many Lib Dem policies, such as a fairer tax system, reform of parliament, the Pupil Premium and protecting civil liberties.
Why didn’t the Lib Dems choose to form a government with New Labour?
Firstly leading New Labour MPs refused to consider this during the coalition talks.
In any case, together the two parties would have only had 315 MPs, which would have been too few to form a stable government. The coalition would have required the support of Nationalist and Independent MPs. Ultimately it was considered that this kind of coalition would have been unstable. An unstable government would have been bad for law-making, bad for the economy and it is unlikely that it would have lasted very long at all.
Why didn’t you let the Conservatives govern alone?
It is unlikely that a minority government could have survived very long at all. Just as the scenario of a Lib-Lab coalition, this would have been a bad for the country. With the economic climate as it was, it would have been disastrous to have a weak government.
What about the policies you disagree with?
David is the Minister of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and works with Secretary of State, Owen Paterson MP.
You can find out more about the work of the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons, and David's role within it by visiting the DEFRA website.
Published and promoted by Sam Phripp on behalf of David Heath (Liberal Democrats) both at Church Hill House, 17 Bath Street, Frome, BA11 1DN.
Printed and hosted by Fasthosts Internet Ltd, Discovery House, 154 Southgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 2EX.