As of now, the coalition government of Great Britain appeared more divided than ever as it was confirmed that the Lords reforms bill pushed so heavily by the liberal democrats was dropped by the government.
If the bill was to have gone through, then the house of Lords, which housed the most powerful people in the entire British government until the seventeenth century, would have had elected peers as opposed to hereditary peers, a system which the liberal democrats and also numerous Labour MP's claimed was unfair, elitist and discriminatory. The scrapping of the bill due to opposition from the conservative proportion of government was met with the following quote by Nick Clegg who was clearly frustrated with the developments calling those who opposed the bill ''resistant to change''.
So what does the bill's scrapping mean long term for the coalition? Until now, the coalition had only encountered a few disagreements unlike many predicted. Despite fierce opposition from many experienced and well respected liberal democrat MP's such as Simon Hughes as well as many members of the party's voters from the 2010 general election, Nick Clegg convinced many of his party members to support the conservatives when they decided to increase tuition fees. Perhaps he felt this would be rewarded by the lords reform bill being passed through government but obviously not.
The lords reform bill isn't the only liberal democrat supported reform bill that has floundered since the coalition began. In May 2011 a referendum took place on electoral reform which was one of the liberal democrats' key policies. However many members of the electorate were confused by the complex voting system and didn't feel change was necessary. Following this, many were left scratching their heads as to why this was a policy with so much importance to the liberal democrats.
The lords reform was a chance for the liberal democrats to reignite their support among many working class people who voted for them in the 2010 election after feeling frustrated with the Labour party. However, this failure will only further add to those who claim the party and its MP's are too close to the conservatives and have lost sight of what they believe in. Also, Nick Clegg's clear frustration when delivering the news will not please a lot of conservative MP's. If this year's mayoral elections are anything to go by and the Liberal democrats continue to be seen as incompetent, the 2015 general election may be a torrid one for Mr. Clegg and his party.
If the bill was to have gone through, then the house of Lords, which housed the most powerful people in the entire British government until the seventeenth century, would have had elected peers as opposed to hereditary peers, a system which the liberal democrats and also numerous Labour MP's claimed was unfair, elitist and discriminatory. The scrapping of the bill due to opposition from the conservative proportion of government was met with the following quote by Nick Clegg who was clearly frustrated with the developments calling those who opposed the bill ''resistant to change''.
So what does the bill's scrapping mean long term for the coalition? Until now, the coalition had only encountered a few disagreements unlike many predicted. Despite fierce opposition from many experienced and well respected liberal democrat MP's such as Simon Hughes as well as many members of the party's voters from the 2010 general election, Nick Clegg convinced many of his party members to support the conservatives when they decided to increase tuition fees. Perhaps he felt this would be rewarded by the lords reform bill being passed through government but obviously not.
The lords reform bill isn't the only liberal democrat supported reform bill that has floundered since the coalition began. In May 2011 a referendum took place on electoral reform which was one of the liberal democrats' key policies. However many members of the electorate were confused by the complex voting system and didn't feel change was necessary. Following this, many were left scratching their heads as to why this was a policy with so much importance to the liberal democrats.
The lords reform was a chance for the liberal democrats to reignite their support among many working class people who voted for them in the 2010 election after feeling frustrated with the Labour party. However, this failure will only further add to those who claim the party and its MP's are too close to the conservatives and have lost sight of what they believe in. Also, Nick Clegg's clear frustration when delivering the news will not please a lot of conservative MP's. If this year's mayoral elections are anything to go by and the Liberal democrats continue to be seen as incompetent, the 2015 general election may be a torrid one for Mr. Clegg and his party.
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