Fishburn Hedges

16.06.2011

One year on from the Rose Garden press conference, our cross-party panel of speakers - with Laura Kuenssberg in the chair - addressed the political health of the coalition and the issues that will impact on its longevity. 

The speakers were:

• Nick Boles, Conservative MP for Grantham & Stamford
• Norman Lamb, Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk
• Tristram Hunt, Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central

Chair, Laura Kuenssberg, BBC Chief Political Correspondent

The key points were:

• The panel were in agreement that the coalition would last its full term and acknowledged it is in rude health
• The coalition should focus more on the growth agenda, although there were severe differences between the speakers over deficit reduction
• Health reforms have tested the strength of the coalition, but it has survived intact.

Will the coalition last its full term?

There was consensus amongst the panel that the coalition would endure for a full five years.  Nick Boles felt that political calculation rather than idealism would see the parties succeed in their arrangement.

Norman Lamb suggested the recent changes to the Health Bill demonstrated that the Liberal Democrats were learning how to influence effectively from within government.  He added that “no Liberal Democrat MPs want to leave the Coalition”.

Labour’s Tristram Hunt argued that discontent from Liberal Democrat grassroots would be required to destabilise the government – “Governments rot from the bottom up”. In his opinion, the recent health changes were a means for Nick Clegg to secure his survival through the autumn conference season, suggesting this could prove to be a “seismic event”. 

Deficit reduction and growth

On spending cuts, Nick Boles believed there was an “underlying acceptance that the deficit has to be reduced”. He suggested there may be a degree of flexibility on the Chancellor’s timings and called on the government to focus more on the growth agenda.

For Norman Lamb, both coalition parties were united in their approach to the deficit. He believed the Liberal Democrats, through the formation of the coalition, had succeeded in tempering the economic policies a Conservative government would have pursued alone.

Meanwhile Tristram Hunt attacked the cuts agenda as ideologically driven, warning they would disproportionately affect the poorest in society. Pressed on the Labour alternative, the Stoke MP endorsed Alistair Darling’s plan to halve the deficit over a four year period.

The shape of NHS reform

For the Liberal Democrats, the changes achieved in the Health Bill were a reminder of the importance of engagement beyond Westminster. Norman Lamb reinforced the importance of seeing through efficiency savings in the NHS.

Nick Boles admitted many of the changes made should have occurred during the Bill’s committee stage.  But he also pointed out that “Labour should now support the Health Bill”.

Tristram Hunt described the process as “car-crash policy making”, refusing to be drawn on which elements of the Bill that Labour would support until the party had fully examined the proposed changes.

Scottish Independence

Nick Boles did not believe Scottish independence would be achieved, while Norman Lamb agreed it was in the UK’s collective interest that Scotland remained part of the Union.  But Norman admitted that “you can’t dismiss the possibility of Scottish independence”. 

Tristram pointed out that we “will need two referendums in Scotland” to achieve independence – so there is much distance yet to travel.