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Government of national unity in the UK

Will there be a government of National Unity in the UK in 2010?



Clement Attlee and Churchill formed a Lab Tory goverment of national unity

What are the possibilities of a government of national unity? What would a government of national unity look like? Clearly we are not in a crisis deep enough to warrant an alliance of all the parties. This is not the second World War. This is not the great depression, that the oleaginous Micheal Portillo would have us think it is in order to force a Tory- Lib Dem coalition.

Could a government of national unity be one possible outcome of the current negotiations in Whitehall? Well perhaps it could. It could because a temporary government of national unity would be the best way for Labour and the Tories to press the reset button and rid themselves of the prospect of true proportional representation.

You can imagine that the agreement to reform the electoral system needs cross party agreement. No cobbled together majority, progressive or Tory could hold up and push through proportional representation without a three line whip.

Even then it might not happen. For this reason a government of national unity with Labour, Tory and Liberal Democrat participating might be the expedient choice. It would allow Labour time to front a new leader and the Liberal Democrat influence would be eradicated.  Both Tory and Labour would be able to compete against each again other with minor adjustments, in year or so. The danger of proportional representation safely past them.

However, in the end, this all seems extremely unlikely because national unity governments are built through national emergencies rather than internal conspiracy.

Reflecting again on the question of a government of national unity, wouldn’t the only government to unite Britain itself be a progressive alliance incorporating nationalist aspirations. This is eminently realisable in a Lib/ Lab and nationalist coalition. We would then have a government that could claim legitimacy throughout the UK.

Could a Tory minority party in a deal with the Lib Dems ever claim to be national? It couldn’t! The Tories are only an English party.



Clearly a progressive coalition is feasible. The SNP would join and so would Plaid Cymru.
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