On The Second Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave To Me... Two Turtle Doves, and a Coalition Gov

When the Conservatives and Lib Dems entered into the first British coalition government since Lloyd George, the British public held their breath.

Would the junior partner, the Liberal Democrats be able to hold their own against the mighty Conservative party?

Would the turtle doves, Dave and Nick, reign in harmony or would their political differences tear them apart?

Pic Credit


The turtle doves are often said to represent love and loss. Since the General Election in May 2010, the coalition partners have seen the initial infatuation fade. The reality of political wrangling reveals that, while the coalition is important, the loyalties to their parties are the deciding factor.

David Cameron is riding high on the British approval ratings, since the EU veto. Clegg, who hummed and hawed, before finally criticising his Prime Minister's actions, has sunken so far in public opinion, that is difficult to imagine him recovering.

Just after the General Election last year, I wrote on my blog about the Hung Parliament and the British angst over a coalition government. Sadly, my prediction was right - Clegg accepted Cameron's offer, but Electoral Reform is further away now than ever.

What of the other electoral promises that the Liberal Democrats made in their manifesto? The EU, Tuition Fees, banking bonuses, capital gains tax - you can check the Coalition Pledge Tracker to see where the Lib Dems won their fights. And where they lost.

Nick and Dave are walking a tightrope. They have to appease their voters enough to be re-elected but still score political points against the other parties. Obviously this means that the easiest way to do this is to bash their common enemy, the Labour Party.

Liberal Democrat voters have been left reeling by their party's consensus to the cuts. Many voters thought that by voting Lib Dems that they could soften the blow somewhat, and are now surprised and angry that their party is not doing more to oppose the worst. Or maybe they are, and the cuts would have been even worse - although it is hard to imagine how that would be.

The cosy coalition of the early days, where Nick Clegg and David Cameron presented a united front to the press, that is well gone. It remains to be seen if Nick and the Lib Dems will continue to bite their tongues and accept the humiliations and setbacks inflicted upon them by the Conservatives.

Love and Loss - at present it seems like the Lib Dems have lost the love and the trust of their voters.