Two heads are better than one? Assessing the implications of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition for UK politics

Political Science

Volumn 63, Issue 1, 2011, Pages 45-60

  Evans, Elizabeth ^a  

^a KINGSTON UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

coalition; Conservatives; Liberal Democrats; UK

Indexed keywords

EID: 79959231193     PISSN: 00323187     EISSN: 20410611     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0032318711404532     Document Type: Article

References (56)

1. A. Lijphart, Patterns of Democracy (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1999).
2. J. Curtice, 'So What Went Wrong with the Electoral System? The 2010 Election Result and the Debate about Electoral Reform', Parliamentary Affairs, vol. 63, no. 4 (2010), pp. 623-38.
3. W. H. Riker, The Theory of Political Coalitions (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1962).
4. R. M. Axelrod, Conflict of Interest: A Theory of Divergent Goals with Application to Politics (Chicago: Markham Publishing Company, 1970).
5. D. Butler (ed.), Coalitions in British Politics (London: Macmillan, 1978), p. 113.
6. H.Bäck 'Intra-Party Politics and Local Coalition Formation', in D. Giannetti and K. Benoit (eds), Intra-Party Politics and Coalition Governments (London: Routledge, 2009), pp. 53-68.
7. Butler, Coalitions in British Politics, p. 113.
8. Butler, Coalitions in British Politics, p. 110.
9. V. Bogdanor, The New British Constitution (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2009), p. 122.
10. D. Kavanagh and P. Cowley, The British General Election of 2010 (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2010).
11. A. Geddes and J. Tonge, 'How Britain Got Hung', Parliamentary Affairs, vol. 63, no. 4 (2010), pp. 583-87.
12. T. Bale and P. Webb, 'The Conservative Party', in N. Allen and J. Bartle (eds), Britain at the Polls 2010 (London: Sage, 2010), pp. 37-62.
13. At present 326 seats are need to secure an overall majority in the House of Commons.
14. Bale and Webb, 'The Conservative Party', p. 55.
15. Kavanagh and Cowley, The British General Election of 2010, p. 161.
16. J. Green, 'Strategic Recovery? The Conservatives Under David Cameron', Parliamentary Affairs, vol. 63, no. 4 (2010), pp. 667-88.
17. See, for instance, 'Election 2010: Adonis in Plea to Lib Dems', editorial, The Scotsman, 12 April 2010.
18. D. Cutts, E. Fieldhouse and A. Russell, 'The Campaign that Changed Everything and Still Did Not Matter? The Liberal Democrat Campaign and Performance', Parliamentary Affairs, vol. 63, no. 4 (2010), pp. 689-707.
19. M. Duverger, Political Parties: Their Organisation and Activity in the Modern State (London: Methuen, 1954).
20. See, for instance, Butler, Coalitions in British Politics.
21. Curtice, 'So What Went Wrong with the Electoral System?', p. 635.
22. T. Bale, The Conservatives: From Thatcher to Cameron (London: Polity, 2010).
23. S. Lee, 'David Cameron's Political Challenges', in S. Lee and M. Beech (eds), The Conservatives under David Cameron (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2009), pp. 1-9.
24. Bale, The Conservatives: From Thatcher to Cameron and P. Norton, 'David Cameron and Tory Success: Architect or By-Stander', in Lee and Beech, The Conservatives under David Cameron, pp. 31-43.
25. T. Bale and E. Sanderson-Nash, 'A Leap of Faith and a Leap in the Dark: The Impact of the Coalition on the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats', in S. Lee and M. Beech (eds), The Cameron-Clegg Government: Coalition Politics in an Age of Austerity (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2011).
26. J. Ashe, R. Campbell, S. Childs and E. Evans "'Stand by your Man": Women's Political Recruitment at the 2010 General Election', British Politics, vol. 5 no. 4 (2010), pp. 455-80.
27. E. Evans, Gender and the Liberal Democrats: RepresentingWomen? (Manchester:Manchester University Press, 2011).
28. See the economically liberal P. Marshall and D. Laws (eds), The Orange Book: Reclaiming Liberalism (London: Profile Books, 2004)
29. socially liberal D. Brack, R .S. Grayson and D. Howarth (eds), Reinventing the State: Social Liberalism for the 21st Century (London: Politico's, 2007).
30. A. Russell and E. Fieldhouse, Neither Left nor Right: The Liberal Democrats and the Electorate (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005).
31. E. Evans and E Sanderson-Nash, 'From Suits to Sandals: Professionalisation, Coalition and the Liberal Democrats', British Journal of Politics and International Relations, forthcoming 2011.
32. Evans and Sanderson-Nash, 'From Suits to Sandals'.
33. For an insider's account of the coalition negotiation process see D. Laws. 22 Days in May: The Birth of the Lib Dem-Conservative Coalition (London: Biteback, 2010).
34. Additionally, R. Wilson, 5 Days to Power (London: Biteback, 2010), offers a more studied assessment of the process by drawing on interviews undertaken with critical actors across all three parties.
35. P. Norton, 'The Politics of Coalition', in Allen and Bartle, Britain at the Polls 2010, pp. 242-65.
36. Laws, 22 Days in May, p. 13.
37. Kavanagh and Cowley, The British General Election of 2010, p. 205.
38. Laws, 22 Days in May, p. 13.
39. Wilson, 5 Days to Power, p. 36.
40. Kavanagh and Cowley, The British General Election of 2010, p. 216.
41. Wilson, 5 Days to Power, p. 32.
42. Wilson, 5 Days to Power, p. 34.
43. Just like FPTP, the AV electoral system is used to elect one member of parliament, but voters are given the opportunity to rank their preferences for candidates. In the event that no one candidate gets over 50 per cent of the vote, the votes cast for the candidate with the fewest number of votes are redistributed according to voters' second choice, and so on until one candidate emerges with the necessary 50 per cent.
44. See M. Hall, 'David Cameron Urges MPs to Block Jail Vote Plan', Daily Express, 5 February 2011.
45. See K. Walker, 'Vince Cable Admits Previously Opposing VAT Rise to "Score Points"', Daily Mail, 28 June 2010.
46. Coalition Agreement, available at: www.direct.gov.uk/prod-consum-dg/ groups/dg- digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg-187876.pdf.
47. Ipsos Mori End of Year Political Review, available at: https://kucahtkh.kingston.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C= 3a29dae6fb1d43c5bc499eace8c36d39&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.ipsos-mori. com%2fAssets%2fDocs%2fNews%2fIpsos-MORI-End-of-Year-Review.pdf.
48. Curtice, 'So What Went Wrong with the Electoral System?', p. 637.
49. A. Wells, 'How Would an Election Look Tomorrow under the Alternative Vote System?', available at: http://today.yougov.co.uk/commentaries/guest/how-would- election-tomorrowlook- under-alternative-vote.
50. Welsh Affairs Committee, 'The Implications for Wales of the Government's Proposals on Constitutional Reform', available at: www.publications.parliament. uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmwelaf/495/49502.htm.
51. See Laws, 22 Days in May.
52. N. Lawson and R. S. Grayson. 'Lab and Lib: A Dream Team', The Guardian, 9 May 2010.
53. Russell and Fieldhouse, Neither Left nor Right, p. 39.
54. See N. Boles, Which Way's Up? (London: Biteback, 2010).
55. Boles, Which Way's Up?, p. xviii.
56. See, for instance, the No2AV campaign which is using Clegg's unpopularity as a key plank of their opposition to a change to the electoral system: www.no2av.org.