Unshackled from Coalition partners, Tories get ready to push radical agenda

[FBaggins]

David Cameron will use the Conservative Party’s first majority in the House of Commons for nearly 20 years to “deliver” on a radical agenda to cut welfare, shrink the size of the state and re-define Britain’s relationship with Europe.

Conservative insiders said Mr Cameron would move to the right to consolidate support among his backbench MPs after five years of compromise with the Liberal Democrats.

Among Mr Cameron’s first legislative priorities will be to enshrine an EU referendum into law, bring in the so-called ‘snoopers charter’ to give police greater powers to monitor internet communications and give English MPs a veto over legislation only affecting England. The Tories also intend to publish plans to scrap the Human Rights Act within their first 100 days. All proposals had been previously blocked by the Lib Dems.

...snip...

As well as deep welfare cuts The Independent understands that the Department of Business and the Department of Energy and Climate Change, previously run by the Lib Dems, will be among the biggest casualties in terms of spending reductions.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/unshackled-from-coalition-partners-tories-get-ready-to-push-radical-agenda-10237611.html

[alcibiades_mystery]

1. Nick Clegg is a fucking moron

His "coalition-building" with Cameron is now obvious for the balls-up it always was.

The Left in smithereens. It will be worse than Thatcher, and they have only themselves to blame.

[calimary]

2. Oh great. Sigh...

[Dawson Leery]

3. Nick Clegg can go to hell.

He should have let Cameron flounder with a minority after the 2010 election.

[LeftishBrit]

4. Nick Clegg will be getting something pretty much like hell from his party!

48 of his 56 MPs lost their seats due to his stupid coalition agreement. Some of them (Alexander, Laws) were also active partners in forming the coalition; but others were collateral damage, including Kennedy who advised against the coalition in the first place.

[LeftishBrit]

5. Horrible thought. I hope we can resist it to some extent.

Note that the Tories and LibDems together had a significantly greater majority over the opposition than the Tories do now on their own.

[pampango]

6. Anti-EU, anti-climate change action, anti-human rights act, deregulation - the right never changes.

Mr Cameron will have to tread a path between what the rest of Europe is prepared to concede in terms of migrant benefit restrictions and reclaiming powers from Brussels, and what is acceptable to his own Eurosceptics.

And Europe will not be the only issue where Mr Cameron will face problems from his own backbenchers.

Paradoxically, despite winning an overall majority, the Prime Minister is far more vulnerable to rebellions than he was in the last Parliament, when the combined strength of the Tory-Lib Dem coalition meant he enjoyed a stronger majority in the Commons.

This will severely restrict his ability to introduce legislation that does not command the support of his entire Parliamentary party and make him uniquely vulnerable to rebellions. But these are problems to come, and this was a day for the Tories to celebrate a remarkable and unexpected election victory.

It seems that the 'rebellions' from far-right 'back-benchers' may be particularly effective since the Conservatives have an absolute majority in parliament, but just barely; so they cannot afford to alienate the fringe right of the party on issues, like leaving the EU, that motivate them.

[Dawson Leery]

7. John Major faced a similar situation after the 92' election.

The results for disastrous for him. He could not control the back bench or the corruption,. His party lost every bi-election, in turn eliminating the narrow majority by the fall of 96'.

Cameron will face similar perils.