Round Two!
28th Jul 2010
"We are busy telling our clients about the 'round two' negotiations between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats on the government's policy programme.
Many people assume that the coalition government's agenda is fixed until the next election - ambitiously planned for 2015. But the coalition's formal agreement and the recently published departmental Structural Reform Plans consist of mainly short-term pledges. Most medium and long term planning is about intentions, rather than commitments.
So the autumn will bring a fresh phase of negotiation and horse trading on the government's 'policy horizon' - major policy commitments to 2015.
This process will prove interesting. The coalition will have emerged from its honeymoon period and previously quiet critics will have gathered confidence. Notable right wing Conservative backbenchers will be more agitated about power sharing and newer ones will have found their teeth. The wider Lib Dem movement will have had a rocky party conference, given they are polling so badly (which may get worse as we run up to elections next May).
This means that as we move into the next round of sparring between the parties, you may see some disaffected backbenchers or grassroots supporters trying to deliver the knockout blow."