With a hung parliament looking likely, a new report brings together advice from experts on how to make power-sharing work for the public
With a hung parliament looking ever more likely, the Electoral Reform Society (ERS) have released a report that brings together senior politicians’ experience of power-sharing arrangements.
A recent survey by the ERS suggested that the public feel favourably towards power-sharing deals. In areas where there has traditionally been a fierce two -party battle, 54 per cent said they believe parliament works best when no party is too dominant so that cross-party agreement is needed to pass laws. 51 per cent said it is better to have several smaller parties than two big parties, and 50 per cent believe the era of two parties dominating British politics is over.
The report includes extracts from an interview with Jenny Willott, the Lib Dem MP for Cardiff Central. She describes the challenges that have faced the Lib Dems in the current coalition arrangement:
“Tuition fees are the prime example. I was critical of the plan to support the government on tuition fees but I lost the argument. Part of the problem was that we were inexperienced – the tuition fees saga happened very early on, within the first six months, when people were still finding their feet in coalition and still trying to get used to how it worked.
“There was still a genuine fear that the government might fall if the Lib Dems disagreed with the Tories too openly and too vocally.
“If it had happened a year later, perhaps it wouldn’t have happened the way it did; I’m sure there would have been more visible disagreement between the parties up front, and more of a compromise.
“I think it was a massive problem for the Lib Dems that the first visible disagreement was on such a key issue for the party. The timing was poor.”
So how do politicians form a successful coalition? ‘Working Together‘ offers five key lessons for party leaders in May:
1. For a coalition to work, there needs to be a common sense of purpose – clear aims and a united vision for what the parties want to achieve together
2. It takes time to negotiate. Deciding how to govern a country is not something that should be rushed. And sometimes, the longer it takes, the better the outcomes
3. need to sign off on any power-sharing arrangement if it is going to achieve legitimacy. This can take the form of special conferences or other means of gaining party members’ assent
4. Power-sharing comes in numerous forms. Each nation can develop models of coalition or minority government which fit with their own political culture
5. Coalitions aren’t easy. They need constant dialogue, good personal relationships between protagonists and mechanisms for resolving disputes if they are going to work
Andrew Burns, the Labour leader of Edinburgh City Council, Scotland’s only Labour/SNP coalition, also contributes to the report. He says:
“Now more than ever, I see genuine cooperation being at the forefront of innovative partnership working across sectors, tackling the serious challenges that lie ahead together, and rebuilding voters’ trust in local democracy.”
After May it is likely that this kind of innovation will be more necessary than ever, as the new government finds its feet in a changed political landscape.
Ruby Stockham is a staff writer at Left Foot Forward. Follow her on Twitter
22 Responses to “How to form a successful coalition government”
robertcp
I have many disagreements with our current government but it has proved that coalitions can work. It provided stable government during a very difficult period for the UK.
littleoddsandpieces
The real changed political landscape that will ensure we do not need a second general election, is for the parties of the poor to be given equal media coverage as the big parties, that are now small as cannot form a majority government in UK parliament.
Never again will ONE OR EVEN TWO PARTY UK GOVERNMENT be anything other than a most severe hung UK parliament.
A multi party coalition works well throughout Europe and this needs to be done in the UK now, as most voters are lost the election process for life today, of all ages.
ENDLAND PARTIES NEED MPs TO ENSURE LABOUR CHANGES AND MAKES A SECURE MAJORITY GOVERNMENT
TRADE UNIONIST AND SOCIALIST COALITION (TUSC) is actually a single party of ex Labour MP and councillors who left or were sacked from labour party for being anti austerity, as well as trade union officials against auterity cuts.
MEBYON KERNOW
Cornwall has single figure marginals.
MK is running in all of Cornwall
CLASS WAR
Running for the first time
Great to bring in the poor youth vote
The poor will not vote Labour and so those tens of millions of votes lost.
Labour’s vote is only middle class earning£20,000 – £40,000 a year.
Scotland SNP’s and Plaid Cymru are more naturall allies to Labour.
SMNP and Plaid Cymru are offering a support and confidence type of coalition with Labour.
This is how coalitions are done in Europe, with each party keeping its own identity.
MEBYON KERNOW / TUSC / CLASS WAR / SOCIALIST GB / LABOUR – MOSTLY ALL FOR ENGLAND / SNP SCOTLAND / PLAID CYMRU WALES
This group of parties could reach the threshold of 323 MPs and above, if only all the huge number of poor voters, that now outnumber all other voters, especially in England, could have parties to vote for.
Info / logoso / links to ensure registered to vote at:
http://www.anastasia-england.me.uk
Leon Wolfeson
Step 1: Don’t have FPTP, as you already have coalitions.
So what you get is the unwieldy marriage of two coalitions, rather than what would be understood as “Parties” under PR voting systems.
Also, the LibDems who signed a pledge than broke their word on tuition fees? Stop making excuses. you lied. Plain and simple.
Guest
It has caused an ongoing financial disaster and has made things far worse, creating instability and showing FPTP is a problem.
Gary Scott
Systems in Britain are, at the moment, turned on their head. Coalition in a FPTP setup and in Holyrood, specifically designed to prevent majorities, has a majority. At the last election Labour suffered the consequences of being in power when a recession hit. Despite this, enough trusted Brown et al to stop the Tories winning. Previous Labour voters only went as far as the LibDems. This time its far different. The coalition has had five full years to improve things. Failed. They knew the time and date of the election, plenty of time to plan out their next term and announce a raft of policies. Failed. Coalition is nearly impossible, LibDems have burned their bridges with their own supporters. The challenge for the next parliament is to see which party can make some kind of alliance to form government. Labour could link with LibDems but frankly there aren’t going to be enough of them. Ed will have a straight choice, cut some kind of deal with SNP or explain to the Labour voters why he refused to take government allied to another left wing party.