Reviewing the Coalition

princeofpounds

So, we are almost at an end to the Coalition government, at least in current form.


I made the mistake of reading the Guardian comments pages earlier today, and I was amazed by the wailing and gnashing of teeth over how terrible the government had been. Throttling the NHS, turfing the poor out on the street, selling the organs of babies and pensioners, that kind of thing.


It got me thinking - has it really been that bad? In any way? To be honest I am struggling to think of any major problems or mistakes at all, above and beyond the normal messy business of government.


Libya perhaps, although as horrible as it sounds we were just a bit-part actor there, and it's not an issue that has really affected the nation significantly.


The removal of the spare room subsidy has been a big issue, but I think in many ways it has been a perfectly understandable move given relatively poor people have been subsidising other poor people (who have been arbitrarily lucky) to have the luxury of bigger houses.


Maybe universal credit? I'm not sure it was any more of a bureaucratic mess than what was there before, probably comes under the 'messy business of government' heading.


Reform of disability living allowance? There have been some stories of a handful of people having serious problems with the system. But it's also clear that thousands of people were cheating the system.


Is the truth is that, actually, they have kind of done pretty well overall? Or should I believe the shrill Cassandra of the Guardian?

wotsthat

I looked back at some posts from around the last election when the doomsters were out in force but, like them or not, the coalition delivered 5 years of stable government just when we needed it.

Doom mongers 0 - Coalition 1.

I can't think of too many 'big things' this government has done. I'm hoping the next government is much the same and leaves people to get on with it.

IronWolf

It has been quite a success really.

Unemployment down
Millions lifted out of tax
Economy growing

The only thing you can really fault them on is not eliminating the deficit

Out,_Vile_Jelly

They scrapped ID cards, but that was easy enough.

Raising the income tax threshold is such an obvious, simple way of helping the lower paid I don't know why it wasn't done before.

I think free schools are a dreadful idea. Also HS2 is boll0x.

Generali

Is there any policy of the Coalition that can be pointed to as a complete failure under any definition. A Poll Tax moment?

There were the riots but from afar at least they looked like a bunch of feral kids that had never been taught any better taking the opportunity to steal a TV. The policing response seemed proportionate and in distinct counterpoint to the US responses to riots.

Plenty of people oppose the 'bedroom tax' (aka getting people with subsidised homes to live in an appropriately sized house) and the disability benefit testing (lots of bad luck stories but anecdote isn't evidence and I've not seen data to show that this testing has systematically failed people).

Even most Tories saw the Poll Tax as an abject failure and I simply can't think of anything equivalent.

michaels

Quietly competent doesn't seem to be a vote winner though. I wonder if the coalition parties ahd gone into the election with a more formal arrangement (ie stood and campaigned as the coalition on their record) if they would have done better or worse?

kabayiri

They've done okay.

I don't think they have done enough to change our cultural obsession with debt. Perhaps it's something which will take decades to change.

kabayiri

Generali wrote: »

Is there any policy of the Coalition that can be pointed to as a complete failure under any definition. A Poll Tax moment?
...

It's too early to judge but it looks like Universal Credit will be underwhelming when judged objectively.

Our obsessions with fairness creates highly complex systems with rule books which are difficult to implement; and take much longer than planned.

Work Program is the same old shambles it was, but it was a mess before the coallition.

princeofpounds

Is there any policy of the Coalition that can be pointed to as a complete failure under any definition. A Poll Tax moment?

Yes that would just about be on the scale I am talking about. I am not talking about complete failures; there actually seems to be a lack of even significant obvious failures. Which makes it hard to understand why the Guardianistas see such world-ending doom.


Believe it or not, this is not a cynical question. Much as the Guardian forms its own little echo-chamber where the last 5 years have been a disaster for the country, I am worried that I see such a lack of merit in their complaints that I might be in an echo-chamber of my own. Hence the desire to open up the question.


So, for example, Blair and Brown have the Financial Crisis and Iraq on their hands. But I am not silly enough to see that as their sole legacy - they also delivered relative peace in Northern Ireland for example.


Miner's strike and poll tax might qualify. Winter of discontent would be a failure.


Such failures are not that rare in government. Which is why I am so dubious about the attacks on the record of this one.

antrobus

michaels wrote: »

Quietly competent doesn't seem to be a vote winner though. I wonder if the coalition parties ahd gone into the election with a more formal arrangement (ie stood and campaigned as the coalition on their record) if they would have done better or worse?

If the Cons and Lib Dems had struck a deal to stand under a Coalition ticket as they did in 1918, then I imagine they would have done a lot better seat wise. On the basis that 34% plus 9% is bigger than 34%.

antrobus

princeofpounds wrote: »

...I made the mistake of reading the Guardian comments pages earlier today...

Yes, but have you seen the Independent editorial of yesterday?
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/editorials/in-defence-of-liberal-democracy-10224221.html

The Independent concludes that;

For all its faults, another Lib-Con Coalition would both prolong recovery and give our kingdom a better chance of continued existence.

Oh, you should read the comments! So many subscriptions being cancelled.