Bangor Students’ Union’s English Language Newspaper
ISSN 1755-7585
Issue No. 212
End of Year Issue 2010
THE PARLIAMENT THAT HUNG BRITAIN?
INSIDE:
WIN Summer Ball tickets!
Yeasayer drop by for a chat
What do the election results mean for us students? Jez Harvey
A
fter the votes of 30 million people were counted, and five days of political wrangling, Britain got its new Prime Minister. It took a lot longer than we are used to and it is a Government that few of us will truly recognise. Britain has not had a coalition Government since the second World War, and the fact that it is an agreement between two parties that are not conventional partners will perhaps make it a less than stable relationship, but it does mean that Britain has what should be a stable Government. Since it became clear early on the Friday morning that Britain would be facing a hung parliament, negotiations had been going on between the Liberal Democrats and both other parties to determine who they would join or work with in a new government. Because of the Tories lead in number of seats (but not majority, they didn’t have more MPs than all other parties) they were the obvious choice in terms of producing a stable government. However, a coalition of almost every other party in the UK with Labour and the Liberal Democrats at the heart was also a possibility, with this being a more
obvious choice in many ways in terms of agreement over policies. In the end, the Liberal Democrats decided that the only viable Government that could be formed would be with David Cameron’s Conservative Party. And so, at 7:45PM on Tuesday 11 May, David Cameron was asked by the Queen to form a new government as Prime Minister. He heads a government with Liberal Democrats in it, and Nick Clegg their leader, as his
As well as this, the Minister for Universities and Science is Conservative David Willetts. It’ll be surprising to hear, but having this Conservative is fantastic news for students. He has been the loudest voice against fees and does not believe Universities have the right to charge anymore than they already do. He also will be responsible for assigning research grants to Universities, so can turn the tide on Universities being forced to explain the ‘economic’ benefits of
Deputy Prime Minister. Most of the seats in Cabinet went to Conservatives, but at least 4 of them went to Liberal Democrats, as well as Nick Clegg’s seat as Deputy Prime Minister. One of those seats has gone to Vince Cable, named as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whose Department will include Universities. This should be encouraging to students, as Cable has a background of lecturing in Universities, and has strongly spoken against the introduction or rise of top-up fees.
their proposals before getting money. Whilst many will be surprised at the Liberal Democrats’ seeming ‘betrayal’ of progressive politics it should be remembered that in some areas at least, the two parties are closer than the Lib Dems and Labour were. Education for instance was a strong link between the two. However, many people argue that the strongest link between the two parties was the desire to see Gordon Brown out of Number 10. Brown has long been seen by the Lib Dems as an enemy of theirs, and the
Most experts agree that this coalition will not last much longer than a year
one who prevented them joining a Labour coalition in 1997. To Brown’s credit, he recognised this and the day before the Liberal Democrat/Tory deal was announced, declared his intention to step down before the Labour Party conference in September. Many believed that this would open the door to a Lib-Lab coalition or pact similar to that in 1977 that lasted for a year before falling apart, but this was not to be. Time will tell how successful this coalition will be, and how much influence the Lib Dems actually have within the Cabinet. Most experts agree that this coalition will not last much longer than a year, and if the electoral reform that has been central to the Lib Dems election pledges and post-election demands is passed, we could see another very different looking Parliament within 18 months. For now, the first Conservative led Government in 13 years is taking its first steps. What it will mean for students and society at large is yet to be seen. Needless to say, this is a massive change for the country, we hope for the good.
Willow Does Wonderllandudno!
European festivals to check out Summer