Quite a few commentators on the left from Polly Toynbee to Jonathan Freedland are making the point that the new coalition actually have some radical left policies that shame Labour. As a friend said to me today, fair play to Cameron for being so brave and enthusiastic about this coalition.
Looking through the deal published today, there is some quite wonderful stuff in it, from raising the income tax thresholds to a PR elected House of Lords, from heartfelt stuff on civil liberties to a referendum on the Alternative Vote. Then we remember the faces of Theresa May and George Osborne. Then there is the worrying stuff on cutbacks and workfare. But looklng through the faces of Labour ministers who blocked the Lib-Lab deal - Tom Harris, John Reid, David Blunkett, Bob Ainsworth and I realised I despair of these people just as much as of the Tories at the moment (what a shame decent MPs like Evan Harris and Nick Palmer lost their seats).
Although it felt like a death in the family - stomach churning when Cameron stepped into No. 10 last night, I now feel a bit better. Maybe I will soon detest these people as much very soon. But for the moment, I am willing to give David Cameron his chance.
I completely agree. Let's give them a chance and see what happens. We have already got rid of the third Heathrow runway. And we get fixed-term parliaments, a huge step forward. As for the swingeing cuts, we were going to get those whoever came to power. AV is disappointingly feeble but even AV is slightly better than what we have now.
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