It’s two months since the election and the novel experiment of a Lib-Dem Conservative coalition government is bedded in after the hung parliament.

And the outlines of the deal that was done in such haste between David Cameron and Nick Clegg are clear.

Cameron, George Osborne and the Conservatives got their way on the economy – the ‘emergency’ budget chose to cut the ‘deficit’ further and faster than the Lib Dems would have liked. This involved sidelining Vince Cable (until recently the people’s Tribune for matters economic and for harrassing the bloody financial industry).

In return, Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems got a promise of a referendum on voting reform (May 5th 2011) and a leading role in something called the Freedom Bill – an attempt to roll back the intrusions of the state into day-to-day life. He’s asked for help from the public with this. This is an area in which the libertarian instincts of the parties can agree although the Daily Mail has its own particular interpretation on the dangers of asking for advice from the plebs. (Libertarianism is often also popular with a government when cash is short).

Only time will tell if this was a good enough deal for the foot soldiers in the Lib Dems, but I’m theorising it won’t be. I thought some evidence for the weakness of Clegg’s position came in Gordon Brown’s last day at Number 10 – when Clegg was rather keen for Gordon to linger to help wring greater concessions from the Conservatives.

The Lib-Dem leader seems to have played the weak hand fortune dealt him well but in the long term I can’t see this taste of power having been much good for him or his party.

If you want an example of the trouble that is heading his way you might want to watch the education debate. Here Minister for Education, Michael Gove, is leading a rather traditional Tory charge against institutional provision of schools through Local Education Authorities. This is an area where Lib-Dems have traditionally been strong (not least in their representation in councils and LEAs) across Britain. There will be blood – there is already – and quite a bit of the violence has come from Conservative councillors too.

I am in receipt of a letter from Tobias Grubbe about a meeting he attended last week.

To #newsrw to learn a GREATER business intelligence.

It was held in the capacious halls posssesed of one GATES, a gentleman, close to the West Minster.

Many hacks attended for discourse on matters of COMMERCE and how they might be exploited in their particular areas of WISDOM.

A gentleman @peterbale addresses the mob of scriveners and their familiars #newsrwJune 25, 2010 9:48 am via Twitter for iPhonetobiasgrubbe
Tobias Grubbe

One REEVES of Birmingham followed with a fine and fiery sermon upon the advisability of KNOWLEDGE about the money.

Many there also made point on the schism of journalists from the means by which their labours are engaged.

Later, MINTO of Southwark and a confederate called FRABCUS made a good display of forms of engraving little known to me, although you may have found it of INTEREST. I could see the engagement in knowledge that they brought to the people who did interact with them.

Time for spectator SPORT at #newsrw Not BEAR-baiting, nor COCK-fighting, but a publick board of INQUIRYJune 25, 2010 4:32 pm via Twitter for iPhonetobiasgrubbe
Tobias Grubbe

THOMPSON from the hamlet of Brighthelmstone was the originator of the meet and made, I think, in concert with his mob, a fine work. I shall attend upon them again.

Regards,

Grubbe
&c.

Tobias GRUBBE
Gentl. of Word and Picture in 1710
My present patron is Journalisted from the Media Standards Trust.
My articles upon MONDAY at the Window of the Telegraph.co.uk

Notations: News Rewired from Journalism.co.uk

The 2010 UK budget in brief.

Reading: Hamish McRae in The Independent, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in The Telegraph and Jill Palmer in Tribune.

Drawn on 8th June 2010 as Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced a public consultation ahead of the emergency budget scheduled for June 22nd.

A rather evasive performance by the PM at his campaign start setpiece interview on Radio 4 Today. He tended to make talking points rather than answer the short and direct questions. Thought Humphreys interviewed well and didn’t lose his temper. It feels like an opportunity for Cameron at his interview tomorrow.

Sometimes politicians write perfect political cartoons in the form of soundbites. I think this means communication which zings from one mind to another with the least possible interference. The Lib Dems shadow chancellor Vince Cable delivered one last night at Channel 4’s Ask the Chancellors Debate when he was talking about the behaviour of some investment banks since receiving the UK taxpayer bailout. It reminded me of my drawing about over-powerful institutions facing the end-of-their-road. I’ve edited this piece to take account of Cable’s observation.

In all the sound and fury of the next few weeks in ‘party’ politics, several more important debates will be going on about issues which more directly impact working people’s lives.

One of the these is the hopelessly inadequate provision of affordable public housing. This issue probably more than any other has helped promote the agenda of extreme right wing authoritarian politics. In the UK this means the fascist British National Party. BNP party leader Nick Griffin and his associates have been able to successfully exploit an existing and understandable fear of losing access to what little public resource is available, based on race hate.

My colleague Mark Hillary has made this mash-up video about the BNP – and if you are interested in why he did it, you can read his reasoning here at the more info box. I like what he has made, even if he has broken Godwin’s Law.

The Budget today could politely be described as a ‘holding operation’ until the general election is over. Only then will the consequences of the financial bailout of the insolvent banks and financial institutions start to unwind in the public sphere. Whoever leads the government, it will be messy.

A nod to Chancellor Alastair Darling who is likely to be standing up for the last time, his hair and eyebrows are holding up remarkably well bearing in mind the events of the past three years.

Red-Handed fat cat political donor UK party political donations © Matt Buck Hack Cartoons

Hack Cartoons archive illustration on what political party fundraising types (of all sorts) tend to do.

Caution: Contextual information down below.

>>>>>

Politics is about interests of groups and individuals. The expression of disagreement about these interests comes out in political thought and action and in the UK it is channelled through the established political parties, Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat.

Clashes of interest are usually over distribution of resources and this tends to occur between working people, who generally provide work or labour in return for wages, and owners, who possess assets which may include the offer of a job. It is this basic relationship which provided the platform for the eventual establishment of the three major political parties in the UK.

If you add time and money and mix, you produce entertaining and informative results. These often include enlightening observations about human behaviour in pursuit of power and a free lunch.

This may help explain some of the recent news obsession with Lord Michael Ashcroft and the Unite union because both of them are the major paymasters for the Conservative and Labour parties.

Reading: BBC Q&A on party political funding

Reading: Wikipedia on party political funding

Reading: Sir Hayden Phillips Review of UK party political funding

A print magazine cover image on what the 2010 general Election is all about.
Reading: Simon Jenkins in The Guardian on how in hock we are to the debts of the insolvent banks
Reading: CityWire on Lehmann Bros and how to cook the books
Reading: What Ernst and Young – the auditors of Lehmann Bros – and who signed off their books say