Blog: Public seem to like coalition idea
Tuesday 18th May 2010, 8:49AM BST.
Now we learn what it is like to have a coalition government, writes Ludlow MP Philip Dunne. While no-one specifically voted for it, most people seem to like the idea of it, given the outcome of the General Election.
The Conservatives had no alternative. As the largest party, constitutional precedent gave us the opportunity to seek to form a Government. Had we failed to secure support from the Liberal Democrats, Labour as the outgoing governing party would have had the right to seek to govern as a minority, either with or without support from other parties. We did not have that option.
For Conservatives to offer the country the stable, decisive Government so desperately needed, we had to form common cause with the Liberal Democrats.
There will undoubtedly be anxious moments for both Conservative and LibDem supporters. But the country faces an immense challenge ahead.
The legacy of Labour has been to bring the country to the brink of bankruptcy. Sorting this out will require some very tough decisions to be taken. This requires a stable government. So for the sake of the country, both parties have put the national interest ahead of party to agree a common platform.
The details will emerge, but for now we should recognise that there has been a huge change in British politics. The country has a Conservative Prime Minister again, supported by all Conservative MPs and all Liberal Democrat MPs.
The feedback I am getting from the constituency is that this coalition has been very broadly welcomed.
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So a Tory MP canvasses his supporters and finds them in support of a Tory government. Could the Star not try a little harder to find some news?
It’s odd that Philip appears to have overlooked the 40% of our current debt that is directly down to various failures of global capitalism. I wonder why that is?
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News: http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/
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Peter why do you invent something to build a straw man argument? where does it say Mr Dunn Polled his supporters?
In fact there have been a few polls done by YouGov and another by ComRes for the Politics Show, both polling members of all parties, it was these that show approval of the coalition.
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“The legacy of Labour has been to bring the country to the brink of bankruptcy”
what a surprise more labour bashing from the shropshire star.
goes to show how bias the shropshire star is towards tory’s.
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Terry.
Your quote was from Dunne, not pencilled by a Star hack.
Anyway, if you wish to suckle at the teat of real socialist media, try (if you haven’t already) the Mirror, or the Guardian, or indeed the BBC.
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You mean polls like the ones telling us how well the Lib Dems were going to do Ken?
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Thanks Eva,good point! not to be misunderstood, I am not a great believer in polls, far to many of them are used by politicians to argue they have a mandate for whatever it is they want to do. The polling suggesting people wanted or are happy with this LibDem coalition being perhaps a case in point. As we all know polls are skewed according to the people and the the questions asked.
My point was specific that Mr Dunn had not just asked a few of his supporters.
I hope you can understand I make that point without supporting polling or the coalition.
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you must be joking mate, we all voted lib dem to keep the tories out, we are appauled at cleggs judas act and will punish them all at the polls
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Now almost 6.30pm, about 20 minutes after the following was on the BBC 6.0pm News. Senior civil Servants had sent letters to Labour Ministers expressing concern that they appeared to be indulging in a mad spending spree prior to the election. This was done in order to cover themselves over what might be considered profligate spending having been required to do so by Ministers. Not surprising then that we then had the Liam Byrne letter to his successor in the Treasury saying that there was no money left.
Yesterday, as an example of this, it was said in some newspapers, that the Department responsible for overseas aid had over £7million unspent. So what did they do?, hand it back to the Treasury, no way, that is not what Labour does. They decided to use “Overseas Aid” money to “prop up” their failing Labour seats, like Dagenham where the Hodge woman was opposed by Griffin of the BNP. £161,000 was given to a Brazilian Band in that constituency. This is a criminal distortion of what is “Overseas Aid”, it certainly is not for a band in the East End of London but more like for the underfed, underprivileged peasants of Brazil.
The Labourites accused the Tories of coming into power to “slash and burn”, their barefaced lies, deceit and hypocracy knows no bounds, there is hardly anything left to slash and burn, Osbourne has taken over a penniless wasteland where even the last £7 million in one major department was squandered in criminally propping up hard pressed Labour seats before the election. What excuses do the Labourite Andy caps and Fag Ash Lil’s have for this, we couldn’t make it up. Why should we wonder how and why they have utterly wrecked this country.
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And that’s why you like the idea of coalitions ?
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Stuart,
What’s the betting he’ll still find some cash for tax cuts for the richest people in the land?
Only yesterday, he was outlining his reasons for opposing perfectly sensible European-wide restrictions on the worst, economy-damaging aspects of greedy hedge fund managers.
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its just not true, this is a biased report
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Um, it’s a blog, not a report. It’s an online diary expressing the views of Mr Dunne, not the views of the paper. Bias doesn’t come into it!
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After a comment like that, maybe you should consider changing your username to “2+2=7″
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has he asked “the puiblic” no i dont think so, im not happy to have torys in power like the other 65 % we dont like tory policy and dont want cameron as PM
clegg is a traitor to those of us who voted for him as the opinion polls show now the libs are finished
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Peter, if his early leanings are anything to go by, the rich are the last to get a look-in for tax advantages, indeed, the indications are that the “middle ground” is going to be hit hard, eg., those on £50,000 or so likely to lose child benefits (as they should) with similar “hits” in the pipeline, middle England are going to feel it hard.
As for “nistagmus” when he/she say’s, “And that’s why you like the idea of coalitions”. When and where did I say that I liked coalitions, nowhere at all. I am filled with foreboding over this Con/Lib get together, neither party can get their unwatered down policies through and the number of indignant Lib Dem supporters are more than matched by the number of Tory supporters (including many indisciplined Tory MPs). It could spell disaster for both parties and i watch with great interest and concern.
What I do find incomprehensible is that presented with 1000% factual details of Labour’s “scorched earth” antics prior to leaving office (5 above), nobody from the Labourite apologists on these streams makes any comment whatsoever about them. I didn’t need it because I already know what makes Labourites “tick” but if we want proof of what they are about this must surely be it. Big joke I suppose that Darling allowed Ministers to spend every last cent in their budgets on matters of little importance just to ensure that the cupboard was bare when the new Government took over.
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“Stuart”, the article is about coalitions. On reading your original response I could find nothing about the subject, now I guessed you wouldn’t be hijacking the comments section to write about something else because that’s impolite and plain odd. I queried therefore how your comment was relevant to the article hoping you would elucidate.
I thank you for writing a second response therefore where you briefly allude the subject in hand.
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[Big joke I suppose that Darling allowed Ministers to spend every last cent in their budgets on matters of little importance just to ensure that the cupboard was bare when the new Government took over.]
I think you are getting confused with what Tory controlled SABC did before the unitary authority, Shropshire Council came in Stu.
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i dont mind the lib bit of the coalition its selfish greedy tories like him i cant stand
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I voted Conservative. I’m not selfish, nor greedy.
What I couldn’t stand was another term of liebour champagne socialists and their ever more pernicious intrusion into the private lives of people, dictating what one should do, the creation of millions of public sector non-jobs, the pandering to the feckless and bone-idle, the punishment of small entrepreneurs with the bravery and intelligence to better themselves, the selling off of UK assets at rock bottom prices, and the slow yet steady brainwashing of the populace to be good little communists (or a pretty good facsimile thereof).
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Of course your selfish winja, you voted conservative! u didnt do that for others did you now
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im afraid mr dunne that 63% of UK people wanted a centre left government, not this awful xenophobic tory one
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