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The Coalition Agreement PDF Print E-mail
Written by Gordon Prentice   
Friday, 21 May 2010 18:24

Just been reading the full Coalition Agreement which is available on the Cabinet Office website.

It is good in parts.   For example, I like the promise to bring in a mandatory register of lobbyists.

Parts are unclear (at least to me).  They say they are going to crack down on tax avoidance, which is legal.  Do they mean tax evasion, which is unlawful?  Or do they mean both?

Then there are the modalities which chart the path through difficult territory.  Take this one, on nuclear power:

“Liberal Democrats have long opposed any new nuclear construction. Conservatives, by contrast, are committed to allowing the replacement of existing nuclear power stations provided that they are subject to the normal planning process for major projects (under a new National Planning Statement), and also provided that they receive no public subsidy.

We will implement a process allowing the Liberal Democrats to maintain their opposition to nuclear power while permitting the Government to bring forward the National Planning Statement for ratification by Parliament so that new nuclear construction becomes possible. This process will involve:

    • the Government completing the drafting of a national planning statement and putting it before Parliament
    • specific agreement that a Liberal Democrat spokesperson will speak against the Planning Statement, but that Liberal Democrat MPs will abstain and
    • clarity that this will not be regarded as an issue of confidence.”

We shall see soon enough how these delightful arrangements work out in practice.

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Last Updated on Saturday, 22 May 2010 02:50
 
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