So it has finally happened then, as expected the UK has its first coalition government since World War 2. David Cameron managed to persuade Nick Clegg that they could find enough common ground between the two parties to be able to happily live together in power. During the past week they have issued a programme for what the coalition plans to do with compromises on both sides. Personally I welcome this new coalition, as it presents a new challenge. For too long politicians have been able to win an election and push on with ill thought through policies and knee jerk schemes which only end up costing more than expected and not delivering what they promised. Don't get me wrong, I'm not naive enough to think that having to share power means there has suddenly been a seismic shift in the way business happens at Westminster. I believe that there will still be some tough challenges for the two leaders, especially in terms of squaring some of the more controversial policy matters with their grassroots supporters. Indeed by signing up to coalition with the Conservatives, it may well have cost them some of their support. I will be watching the developments of this new government with interest and you never know, I might actually blog about it now and then!

So it has finally happened then, as expected the UK has its first coalition government since World War 2. 

David Cameron managed to persuade Nick Clegg that they could find enough common ground between the two parties to be able to happily live together in power. During the past week they have issued a programme for what the coalition plans to do with compromises on both sides.

Personally I welcome this new coalition, as it presents a new challenge. For too long politicians have been able to win an election and push on with ill thought through policies and knee jerk schemes which only end up costing more than expected and not delivering what they promised. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not naive enough to think that having to share power means there has suddenly been a seismic shift in the way business happens at Westminster. I believe that there will still be some tough challenges for the two leaders, especially in terms of squaring some of the more controversial policy matters with their grassroots supporters. Indeed by signing up to coalition with the Conservatives, it may well have cost them some of their support. 

I will be watching the developments of this new government with interest and you never know, I might actually blog about it now and then!

 

So there was a General Election in the UK yesterday and following one of the closest fought campaigns in the past 20 years, the outcome is anything but conclusive. As it currently stands the Conservative Party has 306 seats, the Labour Party has 258 seats and the Liberal Democrats have 57 seats. This means that no one has a majority in order to take control and form a government. 

Since this situation became apparent early this morning, the politicians have been locked into a three way dance, with both of the major parties making overtures to the Liberal Democrats in order to establish if they could form a coalition. To my mind a Lib/Lab pact is the most likely outcome simply because of the similarities between the two. Having said that, David Cameron made a very strong speech this afternoon which was clearly aimed at wooing Nick Clegg. 

From a wider perspective, this is the worst possible outcome. There is already much discussion of the effect that the instability could have on the money markets with the pound falling significantly in value against the dollar over the past few hours. Added to this, I can easily imagine that whoever takes the helm either as a minority government or a coalition will want a proper mandate and end up going back to the people and calling another election in the next few months. 

One of the aspects of an election which often gets forgotten once the results are announced is the massive efforts of all the campaigners up and down the country who put in long hours and many miles of walking to promote their chosen candidate. They should all, regardless of the outcome, be praised for their hard work and enthusiasm 

I have watched the coverage today with interest and remember what it was like to cover an election as a journalist. I have been enormously impressed with the efforts of reporters and presenters who have put in the hours and worked incredibly hard obviously with very little sleep to keep viewers, listeners and readers informed. I hope they all get some time to recover over the next few days. 

 

So there was a General Election in the UK yesterday and following one of the closest fought campaigns in the past 20 years, the outcome is anything but conclusive. As it currently stands the Conservative Party has 306 seats, the Labour Party has 258 seats and the Liberal Democrats have 57 seats. This means that no one has a majority in order to take control and form a government. 

Since this situation became apparent early this morning, the politicians have been locked into a three way dance, with both of the major parties making overtures to the Liberal Democrats in order to establish if they could form a coalition. To my mind a Lib/Lab pact is the most likely outcome simply because of the similarities between the two. Having said that, David Cameron made a very strong speech this afternoon which was clearly aimed at wooing Nick Clegg. 

From a wider perspective, this is the worst possible outcome. There is already much discussion of the effect that the instability could have on the money markets with the pound falling significantly in value against the dollar over the past few hours. Added to this, I can easily imagine that whoever takes the helm either as a minority government or a coalition will want a proper mandate and end up going back to the people and calling another election in the next few months. 

One of the aspects of an election which often gets forgotten once the results are announced is the massive efforts of all the campaigners up and down the country who put in long hours and many miles of walking to promote their chosen candidate. They should all, regardless of the outcome, be praised for their hard work and enthusiasm 

I have watched the coverage today with interest and remember what it was like to cover an election as a journalist. I have been enormously impressed with the efforts of reporters and presenters who have put in the hours and worked incredibly hard obviously with very little sleep to keep viewers, listeners and readers informed. I hope they all get some time to recover over the next few days.