To What Extent Have The Parties In Coalition Remained Committed To Their Traditional Principles

To what extent have the parties in coalition remained committed to their traditional principles? The formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in 2010 has affected each party’s commitment to their traditional principles which would remain intact in a single-party government. However, the two parties have generally reached sensible compromises through peaceful negotiations to stay relatively attached to their traditional principles. The Conservative party has largely remained faithful to its traditional ideas and policies in a number of ways. The party has continued to favour enterprise and support the business sector. The budget deficit has been cut by shifting from public provision to private provision, based on the assumption that private businesses are usually more efficient and responsive than public sector bodies. This has always been a core Conservative belief, inspired by the idea proposed by Thatcher that government spending ‘crowds out’ private sector investment and placing faith in the natural vigour of the market economy. The deficit reduction programme places much greater emphasis on spending cuts rather than on tax rises, for every £1 raised through higher taxation there will be £4 of spending cuts. This reflects the traditional Conservative belief in reducing the size of the state and keeping taxes as low as possible to allow the individual to prosper. The Conservatives have raised the income tax personal allowance for the individual and lowered corporation taxes for businesses, basing their growth strategy on the expansion of the private sector. The Conservatives have also continued to fulfil its traditional principle of minimising the role of the state in people’s lives, or as Thatcher put it: ‘rolling back the frontiers of the state.’ Cameron has done this through his idea of the ‘Big Society’ based on the ideas of civic conservatism and suggesting that people at a local level should take more