Strathclyde Resignation Puts Dampener On Coalition Relaunch

http://m.sky.com/skynews/article/politics/1034474
The much-publicised relaunch of the Coalition today was somewhat overshadowed by the departure of Lord Strathclyde, Leader of The House of Lords.

The veteran Tory peer, who has served on the Tory frontbench for the last 25 years, announced he was leaving the government with immediate effect to resume a career in business.

However he has made it clear how difficult it has been working with the Liberal Democrats in the Lords.

Lord Strathclyde's resignation can therefore only been seen at best, as an embarrassment to Messrs Cameron and Clegg. The Prime Minister, especially, considered him a strong ally in Cabinet.

However, the two men did their best to play up the achievements of the Coalition thus far.

Yes, they have reduced the budget deficit by half, but there was no mention of the fact that Britain was still in danger of slipping back into recession, nor that many families now face huge financial hardship, thanks to the cuts to Child Benefit.

This was, thankfully, not a repeat of the nauseating spectacle in 2010, of the two Party leaders fawning over each other in the Downing Street Rose Garden. The Prime Minister emphasised that 'this is not a marriage.'

Indeed, major policy differences remain, not least on welfare, which will no doubt be laid bare in the House of Commons during the debate this week.

Of course both Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg are committed, they say, to ensuring the Coalition lasts until 2015.

But what are we to make of the Deputy Prime Minister's decision to participate in regular phone-ins on LBC?

It is clearly a sign of desperation on both his and the Liberal Democrats' part, given how unpopular their decision to go into government with the Tories has been. There is a real danger of this backfiring for Nick Clegg; remember how his televised apology for supporting an increase in university tuition fees was parodied and played endlessly online?

Being so accessible to voters on radio will expose him to all kinds of abuse from an electorate clearly angry with Mr Clegg and his party for deserting them just so that he and his Party could have a small taste of power. http://news.sky.com/story/1034372/nick-clegg-signs-up-to-lbc-radio-phone-in