Martin Reynolds, director, K&R Consulting
We are still at the start of the Coalition Government with daily press calls and announcements of new policies and the cancellation of old legislation.
There does seem to be a good feeling at the moment, even if we are aware that there are some tough times ahead for us all in terms of increased taxes and further unemployment, especially in the Public Sector.
What is interesting is the chemistry between the new double act of Cameron and Clegg.
They genuinely do seem to dovetail together well and whilst both sides have had to make a number of concessions they have quickly launched the amended manifesto that will be officially presented this week at the Queen’s speech.
Whilst we have had all the parodies of C&C as Morecombe and Wise, Little & Large etc it has been interesting that there have been no real comparisons of the last real coalition double act of Dr David Owen and David Steel.
This too did indeed start off all sweetness and light with ideas of uniting different political factions into a third party capable of overcoming the Conservatives whilst Labour were trying to purge their membership of its Socialist Worker phase in the eighties.
However it was not long before the honeymoon ended and not just divisions between ideology formed but also a dominant character appeared, wickedly highlighted by Spitting Image with David Steel sat inside Dr Owen’s top pocket agreeing with everything he said.
Hopefully these types of divisions can be overcome by the new double act and we should wish them all well as they battle not only with the huge budget deficit but the ever worrying economic issues within the rest of Europe that we will, whether we like it or not, be caught up in.
There is also another traditional double act that will need to be reappraised. Within politics it is normally the Prime Minister and Chancellor that are the public double act.
Brown and Blair, Darling and Brown and Thatcher and Lawson as well as Clarke, Major et al have all worked in tandem.
The new dynamic of a Deputy Prime Minister who will create just as many headlines as the other two sees us with a new Tri-partite.
My view though is that this could be good news for George Osborne as it will allow him to get to work on the hard decisions required whilst not having to contend with the daily round of interviews.
He still looks a little uncomfortable in the spot light and this should allow him to concentrate on the real issues.
Six months in we may well indeed see a different Osborne who has greater confidence following proven success of a number of his new initiatives.
If they are truly interested in two parties working together in the best interests of the nation then this will be where it can work best.
Returning to the Morecombe and Wise parody let’s hope that there is room for three in this bed!
