Not a major one but one of those annoying ones where I was
being told off for something I felt was unfair and brought up countless counter
arguments that could have lead to an escalation had I not played the age old
Male line of Yes
Dear through gritted teeth.
 |
| Shifting relationship between Nick and Dave? |
We’ve been together for eight years and married fro three
and are well past the loved up, everything’s rosy stage. We’ve settled into a
more comfortable pattern of being good together and focused on our joint goals
(Sophie and the future child due in a few weeks) as well as having our
individual interests and activities. Now we can go out individually and see our
separate friends. It isn’t a bad thing, its just the next phase of any
relationship, they can’t stay fresh forever.
Similarly, I believe that the Coalition leadership, mainly
in the form of Nick and Dave’s “marriage” is undergoing the same change.
Lets be honest, the metaphor of “Marriage” between the two
leaders is fairly apt, not in a humorous “ha-ha they’re at it” way, we’ve heard
it all before, but in a very real way.
Marriage is the meeting of two individual people with
different ideas with common ground and aims and this is what this brief joining
of the Liberal democrats and the Conservative parties. We have got a similar
aim in the form of tackling the deficit left by Labour and providing Social and
Political changes including the cleaning up of Parliament.
We all remember the Rose garden, though at the time I was
welcoming my daughter into the world so have only seen highlights and images
but I remember the ethos. The first year was a tough one but Nick and Dave held
together in public and showed the world a combined front that was still very
much together and focused on the aims. So the Libdems had to swallow the bitter
pill of tuition fees but at the same time the Conservatives had to put forward
and agree to the worry of Electoral reform – Imagine how annoyed hard-line
Conservatives would have been had AV gone through?
This period has ended though, partly because of necessity
and because they are individuals representing very different parties with very
different ideals.
There is now under three years until the next General
Election and both party leaders need to start thinking about life after the
Coalition and Winning the election and surviving. Already the Conservatives are
flexing their muscles and talking about changing housing benefit rules and serious
pushing for an In/out referendum for Europe. Now is the time that the Libdems
should start pushing their own individuality, and this is indeed happening.
Look at our public decree of nothing to do with Murdoch’s empire at Leveson or
pushing for the removal of Bob Diamond or being the driving force for breaking
up the banks?
There have also been some very PUBLIC falling outs.
Remember Nick’s public comments about Dave’s actions during
the European meetings last Autumn on the Marr show?
How about the documented heated arguments over the position
of Jeremy Hunt? It was through somewhat
gritted teeth that the order to abstain was passed to the whips and a somewhat
flimsy but justifiable excuse of Labour’s similar guilt was trotted out just to
please their Coalition partners.
Nick and Dave are only human, but their differing ideologies
and individuality was always going to come out after time and I believe this
time has passed and a new phase has been entered.
When, and I know I’m being pessimistic here, the
Conservatives and Labour vote down the Lords reform that Nick is putting to the
house tomorrow I think the final die will have been cast and these hairline
fractures will become proper cracks and the new phase of the Coalition and
indeed Nick and Dave will definitely be visible.
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