Douglas Carswell's Blog

What is the Coalition for?

What is the Coalition for? 

Cutting the deficit? Except the government will still be running a deficit in 2015 – and beyond. 

Sorting out the public finances? The Coalition will borrow more during its five years than Gordon Brown managed in thirteen.

So what is the Coalition for? Does it boil down to horse-trading between the two parties over their pet projects? Does it simply exist to keep various ministers in office?

Before Parliament resumes in the autumn, the Conservatives and Lib Dems need to draft a Coalition Agreement Mk II. Every MP in each party should be involved in the process. 

The first Coalition Agreement was drawn up in a rush. It is the handiwork of a few, working under the supervision of Whitehall grandees. As the row over Lords reform shows, key parts of it simply do not command much buy-in from backbench MPs.

When the initial Agreement was drawn up, few people understood quite how serious the economic situation would turn out to be. 

Back in May 2010, it was still possible to see the downturn as another of those cyclical recessions. It isn't.  It seemed to many that a little fiscal prudence and a lot of monetary stimulus would sort the economy out. It hasn’t. 

The economic outlook has changed.  We need a new Agreement that reflects the new reality.  

If the West is to prosper, it needs to change; Fundamental currency and banking reform. A supply-side revolution. An end to crony corporatism.  There is much in there that that both Tory and Lib Dems can find common cause on.

If the Coalition is to successfully deal with the problems the country faces, it needs to have an Agreement that puts the condition of Britain – not the pet projects of party chiefs – at its core.  Let's draw up a new deal.

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