Tag Archives: ucl constitution unit

The Politics of Coalition: How the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Government Works

Robert Hazell and Ben Yong’s work, The Politics of Coalition: How the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Government Works, is a very readable volume, written mostly in the style of an introductory politics textbook and based on extensive interviews with the participants, including at very senior levels.

The book is well done, readable, comprehensive and has a few gems lurking in the revelations from all the interviews, such as the limited involvement of Andrew Lansley and Paul Burstow in drafting the health section of the Coalition Agreement.

Posted in Books | Also tagged , , , , , , , and | Leave a comment

Is 75% of the Coalition Agreement drawn from the Lib Dem manifesto? Alas, no…

One of the key justifications for Lib Dem involvement in the Coalition — one which has comforted many party members through the first two difficult years of being the junior partner in government with the Conservatives — has been the finding that 75% of the Lib Dem manifesto appeared in the Programme for Government (commonly known as the Coalition Agreement). This assessment was based on research by UCL’s Constitution Unit, and published a year ago in their interim report on ‘How Coalition Government Works’ (PDF).

However, UCL has …

Posted in News and What do the academics say? | Also tagged , , , and | 29 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • David Evans
    Let's be honest here. The whole thing is a political carve up, by an instinctively centralising and authoritarian Labour party, emboldened by a huge parliament...
  • George Thomas
    Perhaps my most illiberal "opinion" is that automatic freedom of movement for immigrants is possibly a bad thing*. I remember speaking with a recent refugee who...
  • Chloe
    'underlying emotions are fear, resentment and inadequacy relating to their own lives' Are you saying the residents of Crowborough or Bicester who've protested ...
  • Andy Daer
    We're talking about two different things here. The reasons our potential workforce doesn't fit with what the economy and society require are one thing, and the ...
  • David Raw
    Nigel Lindsay raises some substantial questions about local democracy and accountability. I hope the parliamentary party will take the matter up as a matter of ...