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[Lizzie_Zoom]

I'm not so sure... Lets see what the next month or so brings before judging. At the end of the day, they can't do any worse that their predecessors... Can they? :-/

Here here - and theres me having sworn that I'd never get intp a political discussion via OOF. Give em a chance I say.

Yes indeed, because for the first time in my life at last we have broken down the tweedle dee and tweedle dumb of British politics continual digging at each other, scoring political points.

At last the mould of old men leading tired, single minded parties, seems to have been broken with an exciting new era commencing with dynamic young party leaders.

Maybe, just maybe, this is the revolution we have been awaiting for in politics to at last take our country into a new prosperous future, after of course some very painful times!

The media will be waiting for cracks to appear in the coalition, but let us, the important people. the general public give it all a chance to work 8-) 8-)

Youth has nothing to do with it. This is not X-factor, it's real life and we're just as capable of being stitched up by these two as we were by Brown/Mandelson. Fixed-term Parliaments are a sign of what we may expect.

You think Nick??

History has told us otherwise, with stubiness, dogmatism, ill health, old and tired approaches made to new modern problems and situations when the world moves on and they hadn't realised.

Examples?  I only need to quote these modern day examples; Winston Churchill 1955, Anthony Eden 1956, Edward Heath 1974, Harold Wilson 1976, Maggie Thatcher 1990, Gordon Brown 2010

As for X Factor I think any one of any intelligence knows that Nick!

But for the issues faced by the UK, and modern politics generally, we need leaders with experience and knowledge, yes, but also maximum stamina, patience, high mental capacity and perseverance, which normal goes with the younger age groups. 8-) 8-)

Ageist twaddle, I'm afraid.

All of those qualities can be found in older people.

Like I said - X-Factor politics..

No Nick, my opinion!!

Do you see the older politicians lining up for the leaders jobs in any of the main parties?  No!  Ask yourself why!!  

Do you have old men in the Premiership football teams? ; do you have old men or women still performing in athletics?
Does the British army rely on 60+ year olds fighting on the front line?  etc, etc, etc.  No NO NO!  That is life Nick!

 
You have your opinions Nick, as always, and I have mine!

Let's agree to disagree

Sorry Nick!!

I have not had a good day, and when I read certain words and 'smilies' in your post I rather snapped and felt insulted!

What I am saying I do believe in, but how my anger (which came from somewhere!) came across was not good. Sorry!!

After all this is only a political debate that will not change any of our lives, and at the end of the day is unimportant 8-) 8-)

[Banjax]

Give them a chance.

Anyway they both believe in the liberty of the subject, eg no ID cards.

Civil Liberties is VERY important.

Also I think that the two parties will cancel out their sillier policies

totally agree about ID cards - I'm pleased they've been binned, and the Libs will hopefully temper some of the loony right old tory stuff

I really find this fascinating, and I really hope it works.....but I'll believe it's an end to the old "tweedledum and Tweedledee" political points scoring when I see it. 

Until then, I don't believe the hype 

[Martin_1962]

Give them a chance.

Anyway they both believe in the liberty of the subject, eg no ID cards.

Civil Liberties is VERY important.

Also I think that the two parties will cancel out their sillier policies

totally agree about ID cards - I'm pleased they've been binned, and the Libs will hopefully temper some of the loony right old tory stuff

I really find this fascinating, and I really hope it works.....but I'll believe it's an end to the old "tweedledum and Tweedledee" political points scoring when I see it. 

Until then, I don't believe the hype 

Well I am giving them the benefit of the doubt - I really hope it works.

[TheBoy]

As others have said, they will be an improvement on the last 13yrs.  No doubt if it all goes sour, we will have another opportunity to decide.


Now, FFS, who gives a monkeys?

[Nickbat]

Sorry Nick!!

I have not had a good day, and when I read certain words and 'smilies' in your post I rather snapped and felt insulted!

What I am saying I do believe in, but how my anger (which came from somewhere!) came across was not good. Sorry!!

After all this is only a political debate that will not change any of our lives, and at the end of the day is unimportant 8-) 8-)

That's OK.

My point, upon which I could not expand as I had a governors meeting to attend, is that you shouldn't   need the stamina to stay up half the night. That is indeed for the younger foot soldiers. What you do need is wise head on experienced shoulders and that very often comes from an older person.

In my experience, the best managers have relatively very little to do. They will have chosen, and delegated to, the very best people who implement their decisions in the most efficient manner possible.

Whenever you see a "manager" working all hours, it is a bad sign. That manager has not delegated, has hired badly, and is only holding on by his own sweat and tears. Furthermore, he's probably (and often justifiably) very insecure.

   

[Banjax]

What would the alternative have been BJ?

you asked me yesterday Zulu (it probably struck you that I failed to answer, or not  ) but I've been churning it over and over in my little brain and the reason I couldn't answer is because, instinctively and deep down I knew there was no alternative - I hate to say it but Nick Clegg really had no choice - a so-called 'rainbow alliance' of losers wouldn't have convinced anyone - least of all the parties themselves....so the LibDems are left with a choice - do they allow the Tories to try to struggle by with a minority government in the teeth of a financial crisis - doing no one any favours, or do they sacrifice their own political future on an all-in coalition? Not only was it an immensely brave act politically (much easier to duck out and hide in opposition) but it was the decent and right thing to do. Now it may not work, but I think we have to hope to hell that it does and trust that both leaders are being honest and sincere in their actions and for once the people are put ahead of the party  8-)

[Dishevelled Den]

What would the alternative have been BJ?

you asked me yesterday Zulu (it probably struck you that I failed to answer, or not  ) but I've been churning it over and over in my little brain and the reason I couldn't answer is because, instinctively and deep down I knew there was no alternative - I hate to say it but Nick Clegg really had no choice - a so-called 'rainbow alliance' of losers wouldn't have convinced anyone - least of all the parties themselves....so the LibDems are left with a choice - do they allow the Tories to try to struggle by with a minority government in the teeth of a financial crisis - doing no one any favours, or do they sacrifice their own political future on an all-in coalition? Not only was it an immensely brave act politically (much easier to duck out and hide in opposition) but it was the decent and right thing to do. Now it may not work, but I think we have to hope to hell that it does and trust that both leaders are being honest and sincere in their actions and for once the people are put ahead of the party  8-)

That's a fine response BJ 8-) 8-)

I have no doubt that this alliance will face many problems and will be surprised if it lasts full term.  As you say, there's little else on  offer at the moment so although I'm certainly uncomfortable with alliance politics, it's the only show in town presently and for that reason, I'm giving this attempt to address the serious problems this country now faces my support .

Whether that is well conceived, only time will tell - but to do otherwise would abrogate the responsibly we all now have to give support to those who seek to address the many ills effecting this nation as a whole.

The sooner we can have an electoral system that provides realistic, fair and workable constituencies and gives all groups an equal opportunity to form a strong majority government, without the need for forced alliances, the better.

I certainly hope that the Labour Party takes this period in opposition to ditch the dubious and plainly disastrous Blair/Mandelson experiment and re-establish some of the core values it once had.

[djac]

I'm not so sure... Lets see what the next month or so brings before judging. At the end of the day, they can't do any worse that their predecessors... Can they? :-/

It's a sham marriage of convenience, ironically the death of the Labour government, has made them a more powerful force in British politics than they were.....a bit like Obi-Wan-Kenobi 

I'll be completely honest - I've felt nauseous, sick and nervous since "Prime Minister Cameron" was anointed, politicians can spout on about it all being in the "interests of the country", mark my words - politicians do nothing in anyones interests other than their own 

The sooner this is revealed the better - look back at the tories and their attack dogs in the press over the last few weeks - their astonishing and vindictive attacks on the LibDems were despicable....thats all gone now and of course the LibDems and Tories are old friends now? pfft!!!! spare me 
excuse me while I wait for the whole shambolic structure to collapse  8-)

mark my words - politicians do nothing in anyones interests other than their own

In the interests of balance BJ do you include the Labour Party in these remarks?

absolutely Zulu - I believe that Labour ran as far from a deal with the Liberals as they could - knowing full well, the best outcome for them was a spectacularly bad Libservative government for a few months 

Come off it, BJ! It was no secret that Labour were schmoozing the LibDems every bit as much as the Tories were.

Nick Clegg had already said he couldn't do any deal with Labour that left GB as PM, so surprise, GB says he'll step down.

He only did that so it might leave Labour in with a chance of forming a coalition with the LibDems (and others...). Even then the government so formed would still have been crippled with no majority.

[jereboam]

This can't be right, surely?

"There will not be another election until May 2015 unless a vote of no confidence in the Government is passed by an “enhanced majority” of Parliament. It is not yet clear what the enhanced majority would be but it could be two-thirds or three quarters of MPs."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/david-cameron/7713276/Conservative-Liberal-Democrat-deal-will-be-tough-on-the-rich.html

No, no, no. It should stay as a simple majority vote. Goodbye Parliamentary democracy?

A major Cameron/Clegg error in my book. 
 

I think the Cleggerons agreed it would take a 55% majority vote of no confidence to oust the ConDem government - purely to give them a decent shot at stability 

every layer of this coalition seems to get more and more questionable.....and what about the upcoming LibDem/Tory marginal seat thats up for grabs? will they both be agreeing you vote for the other guy? 

Call me old-fashioned if you like, but surely they can't change the way Parliament operates just because they don't want to face the electorate? What's to stop them saying there will be no more general elections, ever? Beyond party politics, I am primarily a supporter of Parliamentary democracy (which is why I am so fervently anti-EU).

This is a bad move, IMHO. 

On a point of information:

I don't think it requires 55% to oust the Government on a vote of confidence - that remains as it always was, at 50% + 1 vote.

We will have fixed-term Parliaments now, not fixed term Governments.  A vote of confidence can dismiss the Government, but instead of triggering a General Election, it will trigger a new round of negotiations to see who can form a new Government. 

It will require a 55% majority of the house to dissolve Parliament and trigger a General Election. 

It's a different type of parliamentary system from anything we've had for the UK before.  I think it's quite clever, really.

[HolyCount]

What would the alternative have been BJ?

you asked me yesterday Zulu (it probably struck you that I failed to answer, or not  ) but I've been churning it over and over in my little brain and the reason I couldn't answer is because, instinctively and deep down I knew there was no alternative - I hate to say it but Nick Clegg really had no choice - a so-called 'rainbow alliance' of losers wouldn't have convinced anyone - least of all the parties themselves....so the LibDems are left with a choice - do they allow the Tories to try to struggle by with a minority government in the teeth of a financial crisis - doing no one any favours, or do they sacrifice their own political future on an all-in coalition? Not only was it an immensely brave act politically (much easier to duck out and hide in opposition) but it was the decent and right thing to do. Now it may not work, but I think we have to hope to hell that it does and trust that both leaders are being honest and sincere in their actions and for once the people are put ahead of the party  8-)

That's a fine response BJ 8-) 8-)

I have no doubt that this alliance will face many problems and will be surprised if it lasts full term.  As you say, there's little else on  offer at the moment so although I'm certainly uncomfortable with alliance politics, it's the only show in town presently and for that reason, I'm giving this attempt to address the serious problems this country now faces my support .

Whether that is well conceived, only time will tell - but to do otherwise would abrogate the responsibly we all now have to give support to those who seek to address the many ills effecting this nation as a whole.

The sooner we can have an electoral system that provides realistic, fair and workable constituencies and gives all groups an equal opportunity to form a strong majority government, without the need for forced alliances, the better.

I certainly hope that the Labour Party takes this period in opposition to ditch the dubious and plainly disastrous Blair/Mandelson experiment and re-establish some of the core values it once had.

I feel these two responses sum up the current situation admirably. Whatever our politics this is what we have got -- and it is up to the electorate, as well as the politicians, to try to make it work for the best. Those politicians who openly derrogate the arrangement and refuse to co-operate are, once again, putting self and party before country.

To put it bluntly, we are in the crap -- time to start digging 

[Nickbat]

I'm giving this attempt to address the serious problems this country now faces my support .

The only trouble with that, Zulu, is that they are already demonstrably avoiding at least one of the serious problems we face.

I refer, specifically, to the mind-numbingly daft appointment of Chris Huhne (libDem) to the Energy Department.

Have a read of this:*

http://web.me.com/sinfonia1/Clamour_Of_The_Times/Clamour_Of_The_Times/Entries/2010/5/13_Oh_no!_It%E2%80%99s_Chris_Huhne!.html

 


*Professor Stott is Emeritus Professor of Biogeography at the University of London.

[Dishevelled Den]

I'm giving this attempt to address the serious problems this country now faces my support .

The only trouble with that, Zulu, is that they are already demonstrably avoiding at least one of the serious problems we face.

I refer, specifically, to the mind-numbingly daft appointment of Chris Huhne (libDem) to the Energy Department.

Have a read of this:*

http://web.me.com/sinfonia1/Clamour_Of_The_Times/Clamour_Of_The_Times/Entries/2010/5/13_Oh_no!_It%E2%80%99s_Chris_Huhne!.html

 


*Professor Stott is Emeritus Professor of Biogeography at the University of London.

I did smile at that appointment as I had been waiting for some such pearl to be revealed.

There's no hope of any sensible energy policy falling from these conjoined loins.

I still can't understand how many in the political cadre seemingly fail to recognise that it's the potential failure of our ability to generate sufficient energy for our needs over the next 20 years or so that's the pressing problem and not necessarily the overt and fashionable concern over 'global warming'