Abstract
‘I hope this is the start of the new politics I have always believed in,’ Nick Clegg said on the steps of Downing Street last May, just minutes after the announcement of a coalition agreement between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats.
The Con—Lib coalition is certainly novel — it is the UK's first coalition in 70 years — but in many respects Clegg's much vaunted ‘new politics’ has failed to materialise. The government remains mired in economic difficulties both at home and in the eurozone, while the Murdoch scandal revealed once more the murky depths of the links between high office and the media.
Not much has changed within Whitehall, too, since the coalition came to power. In this issue's lead article, Robert Hazell and the Constitution Unit at University College London go behind Downing Street's closed doors to investigate everyday life under the coalition.
As Robert Hazell notes, in government Clegg's Liberal Democrats have struggled to make a difference that is visible to the electorate — taking the flak for unpopular policies such as tuition fees but rarely receiving plaudits for successful interventions. Such perceptions have already cost the party dear at the ballot box: in his analysis of May's devolved elections, Jonathan Tonge shows that the Lib Dem vote was badly hit in Wales and, particularly, Scotland.
The Scottish National Party won big at Holyrood in May, taking 69 of a possible 129 seats. The SNP's victory has been one of the major political stories of the summer, but does it mean that Scottish independence is a certainty? James Mitchell thinks not. In his Foresight piece, he argues that while the union might be loosening the prospect of full autonomy is still a long way off.
One aspect of British politics that definitely won't be changing any time soon is the electoral system. In an in-depth analysis of May's failed Alternative Vote referendum, John Curtice argues that the defeat will have long lasting implications for the cause of electoral reform.
Elsewhere in this issue, Susan Milner examines the re-emergence of strike action on the UK's streets; journalist and academic Eamonn O'Neill looks at the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the body set up to investigate miscarriages of justice; and David Denver reviews a decade of postal voting ‘on demand’.
As ever, Political Insight isn't just concerned with national politics. Richard Woodward looks back — and forward — as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development celebrates its 50th anniversary.
In August, Pakistan commemorated 64 years of independence but, as Rasul Bakhsh Rais writes from Lahore, the country is still struggling to settle on fundamental political values. As economic and social problems mount, fears that the army will reclaim power rise. Meanwhile, Nick Hunt reports from oil-rich Dubai, where an economic boom has been built on the indentured labour of millions of Asian workers.
We may not be witnessing a new politics but the political landscape is certainly shifting. You too can join in these debates or contribute to Political Insight. Just drop me an email (address on the opposite page) or log on to www.politicalinsightmagazine.com.