Cameron–Clegg coalition

Government of the United Kingdom (2010–2015)

The Cameron–Clegg coalition was formed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg when Cameron was invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government, following the resignation of Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010, after the general election on 6 May. It was the UK's first coalition government since the Churchill caretaker ministry in 1945.

The coalition was led by Cameron as Prime Minister with Clegg as Deputy Prime Minister and composed of members of both Cameron's centre-right Conservative Party and Clegg's centrist Liberal Democrats. The Cabinet was made up of sixteen Conservatives and five Liberal Democrats, with eight other Conservatives and one other Liberal Democrat attending cabinet but not members.^[1] The coalition was succeeded by the single-party, second Cameron ministry following the 2015 election.

History

The previous Parliament had been dissolved on 12 April 2010 in advance of the general election on 6 May.^[2] The general election resulted in a hung parliament, no single party having an overall majority in the House of Commons, for the first time in 36 years. The Conservatives emerged having the most seats, but 20 short of an overall majority.

In the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement of 11 May 2010, the two parties formed a coalition government.^[3][4] The new Parliament met on 18 May for the swearing-in of Peers in the House of Lords and newly elected and returning Members of Parliament in the House of Commons, and the election for the Speakership of the House of Commons. The Queen's Speech on 25 May set out the government's legislative agenda.^[5] Of the 57 Liberal Democrat MPs, only two refused to support the Conservative Coalition agreement, with former leader Charles Kennedy and Manchester Withington MP John Leech both rebelling.^[6]

The Liberal Democrats had five Cabinet members, including Nick Clegg as Deputy Prime Minister – though after the Cabinet and ministerial reshuffle, David Laws, who was a Minister of State, was allowed to attend the Cabinet but was not a full member. If a Liberal Democrat minister resigned or was removed from office, another member of the same party would have had to be appointed to the Cabinet.^[7]

Each cabinet committee had a chair from one party and a deputy chair from the other; there was also a cabinet committee specifically overseeing the operation of the coalition. Both parties' ministers shared collective responsibility for the government's positions, although the coalition agreement detailed several issues on which the parties agreed to differ; the Liberal Democrats abstained from voting in such cases. Clegg, as Deputy Prime Minister, took Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) when David Cameron was unavailable.^[7]

Key decisions were made by a core group called the "Quad", made up of Cameron, Clegg, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, which decided "all major matters of policy" and resolved disputes between the two parties.^[8][9][10]

While the government's front benchers sat together in the House of Commons and the two parties acted as a bloc during PMQs,^[11] the Liberal Democrat and Conservative backbenchers sat apart and each had their own whips,^[11] and the two parties competed in by-elections. On 4 September 2012, Cameron reshuffled his cabinet for the first time.^[12] He reshuffled his cabinet for the second time on 14 July 2014.^[13]

Cabinets

May 2010 – September 2012

Changes

• David Laws resigned as Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 29 May 2010 because of an expenses irregularity dating from the previous Parliament. He was replaced by Danny Alexander, who was in turn replaced as Secretary of State for Scotland by Michael Moore.^[15]
• On 14 October 2011 Liam Fox resigned as Secretary of State for Defence following the procurement of high-level overseas meetings attendance for his friend and advisor, Adam Werrity, working for a private contractor, and stated that he had "mistakenly allowed the distinction between my personal interest and my government activities to become blurred".^[16] His successor was Philip Hammond, who was replaced as Transport Secretary by Justine Greening, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, who was in turn replaced by Chloe Smith, an assistant government whip: she was replaced in turn by Greg Hands.^[16][17]
• On 3 February 2012 Chris Huhne resigned as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change following the decision of the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute him and his former wife. His successor was Ed Davey, who was replaced as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills by Norman Lamb, replaced in his previous dual roles by Jenny Willott as an Assistant Whip and Jo Swinson as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister.^[18]

September 2012 – July 2014

Changes

• On 19 October 2012, Andrew Mitchell resigned as Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons following controversy surrounding an argument with police officers in Downing Street. He was replaced by George Young.^[21]
• On 7 January 2013, Lord Strathclyde resigned as Leader of the House of Lords and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He was replaced by Lord Hill of Oareford.^[22]
• On 7 October 2013, Michael Moore was replaced as Secretary of State for Scotland by Alistair Carmichael, during a reshuffle which focused on junior ministerial ranks.
• On 9 April 2014, Maria Miller resigned as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Minister for Women and Equalities. She was replaced as Culture Secretary and Minister for Equalities by Sajid Javid, and by Nicky Morgan as Minister for Women. Morgan, who succeeded Javid as Financial Secretary to the Treasury, was not a full cabinet member but attended meetings in her role as Minister for Women.^[23]

July 2014 – May 2015

Changes

• On 5 August 2014, Baroness Warsi resigned as Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and as Minister for Faith and Community, in protest at the Government's response to the conflict in the Gaza Strip.^[26] She was replaced at the Foreign Office by Baroness Anelay of St John's, with Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles taking on Warsi's former Faith and Community brief.^[27]

List of ministers

Prime Minister and Cabinet Office

Departments of State

Law officers

Parliament

See also

• Politics portal
• United Kingdom portal
• Conservatism portal
• Liberalism portal

• Fox–North coalition
• Theresa May's tenure as Home Secretary
• Premiership of David Cameron
• Lib–Con pact
• Lib–Lab pact
• List of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Shadow Cabinet of Ed Miliband

References

1. "Nick Clegg appointed Deputy Prime Minister" (Press release). Office of the Prime Minister. 12 May 2010. Archived from the original on 5 July 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
2. Adonis 2013; Eccleston & Krever 2017, p. 132; Jowell, Oliver & O'Cinneide 2015, p. 220; Kickert & Randma-Liiv 2015, p. 114; Peele & Francis 2016, p. 48.
3. "Conservative Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement". Conservative Party. 12 May 2010. Archived from the original on 15 May 2010. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
4. "Conservative Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement". Liberal Democrats. 12 May 2010. Archived from the original on 11 December 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
5. "Queen's Speech 2010". Gov.uk. 25 May 2010. Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
6. Hampson, Tom (27 September 2010). "John Leech did not vote for the coalition – but who is the third man?". Next Left. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
7. "Coalition government: Q&A". The Telegraph. 14 May 2010. Archived from the original on 17 May 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
8. Montgomerie, Tim (16 February 2012). "Ten things you need to know about the group of four that runs the Coalition". Conservative Home. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
9. Forsyth, James (18 February 2012). "Politics: Britain's new gang of four". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
10. Asthana, Anushka; Helm, Toby (16 October 2010). "Behind closed doors, the coalition 'quad' thrashed out our fate". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
11. Riddell, Peter (19 May 2010). "All change in the transformed House of Commons". The Times. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
12. Wintour, Patrick; Watt, Nicholas (4 September 2012). "David Cameron's right turn in cabinet reshuffle". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
13. "William Hague quits as foreign secretary in cabinet reshuffle". BBC News. 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
14. "Her Majesty's Government". Office of the Prime Minister. Archived from the original on 1 August 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
15. "David Laws resignation: What next for government?". BBC News. 30 May 2012. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
16. "Liam Fox quits as defence secretary". BBC News. 14 October 2011. Archived from the original on 13 November 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
17. "As it happened: Liam Fox resigns". BBC News. 9 July 2011. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
18. "New Ministerial Appointments" (Press release). Office of the Prime Minister. 3 February 2012. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
19. "Her Majesty's Cabinet". Office of the Prime Minister. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
20. "Her Majesty's Government". House of Commons Information Office. Retrieved 6 September 2012.
21. Wintour, Patrick; Syal, Rajeev (19 October 2012). "Andrew Mitchell resigns following allegations he called police 'plebs'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
22. "Lord Strathclyde resigns from cabinet". BBC News. 7 January 2013. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
23. "Sajid Javid named culture secretary after Miller exit". BBC News. 9 April 2014. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
24. "Ministerial appointments: July 2014" (Press release). Office of the Prime Minister. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
25. "Her Majesty's Cabinet". Office of the Prime Minister. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
26. "Baroness Warsi quits as Foreign Office minister over Gaza". BBC News. 5 August 2014. Archived from the original on 5 August 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
27. "Ministerial appointments: August 2014 – Press releases". Gov.uk. 6 August 2014. Archived from the original on 9 September 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2016.

Bibliography

• Adonis, Andrew (2013). "Cameron–Clegg: Three Years On". 5 Days in May: The Coalition and Beyond (first ed.). Biteback. ISBN 978-1-84954-605-8.
• Eccleston, Richard; Krever, Richard, eds. (2017). The Future of Federalism: Intergovernmental Financial Relations in an Age of Austerity. Edward Elgar. ISBN 978-1-78471-778-0.
• Hazell, Robert; Yong, Ben (2012). The Politics of Coalition: How the Conservative–Liberal Democrat Government Works. Hart. ISBN 978-1-84946-310-2.
• Jowell, Jeffrey; Oliver, Dawn; O'Cinneide, Colm, eds. (2015). The Changing Constitution (eighth ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-870982-4.
• Kickert, Walter; Randma-Liiv, Tiina (2015). Europe Managing the Crisis: The Politics of Fiscal Consolidation. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-52570-7.
• Peele, Gillian; Francis, John G., eds. (2016). David Cameron and Conservative Renewal: The Limits of Modernisation?. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-1-78499-153-1.

External links

• "Cameron's government: A guide to who's who", BBC News, 14 May 2010
• "Election 2010: the new cabinet", The Guardian (interactive guide), 12 May 2010