David Cameron said the coalition was “as good today as it was a year ago”
Coalition will continue, says PM
David Cameron has said the coalition will survive – despite partners the Lib Dems being on course for their worst ever election results.
The party has already lost 300 councillors and taken a big hit in Scottish and Welsh elections.
The Conservative vote, by contrast, has held up well in the first big test of opinion since the general election.
But the prime minister said: “The reason for having a coalition today is as strong as it was a year ago.”
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said his party was bearing “the brunt of the blame” for coalition spending cuts.
It has lost control of a number of councils in Northern England – and the party’s projected national vote share, 15%, is well down on what it achieved at last year’s general election although not as bad as the 9% it was scoring in some recent opinion polls.
Labour’s national share is well up on the election, at 37%, but the Conservative vote has held up well at 35%.
Robust. Businesslike. A partnership of the head rather than the heart.
That is how senior Lib Dems are describing the coalition now.
In Lord Ashdown’s words “it will never again be glad confident morning” in the coalition.
The question now is what does that mean?
Lib Dems emphasise they are not about to present a shopping list of policy demands to the prime minister.
And Conservatives, some publicly, some privately, say they will not stomach a series of concessions to Nick Clegg to make his party feel better.
But defeated, demoralised Lib Dems will need more than tales of arguments around the cabinet table to convince them their party is benefiting from the coalition – and could win back its lost seats in the future.
Mr Clegg has faced calls from defeated senior councillors to quit as Lib Dem leader and break up the coalition – rejected by senior Lib Dem cabinet colleagues.
Mr Cameron – who has gained seats at the expense of the Lib Dems in the South of England – went out of his way to praise the efforts of Lib Dem activists.
And he insisted the future of the coalition at Westminster was not on the line.
“These two parties – Conservatives and Liberal Democrats – with different histories and traditions and sometimes quite different views, are working together in the national interest to sort out the long-term problems we face, whether it’s the budget deficit, or the need to improve our schools and our hospitals or reform welfare.
“That’s what we’re committed to do, and I am absolutely committed to make the coalition government, which I believe is good for Britain, work for the full five years of this term.”
He paid tribute to the Liberal Democrats, saying the work they do in the coalition will continue for the full five-year term until the next general election.
Mr Cameron added: “The Conservative vote share has held up and I think that’s because Conservative councils and councillors have done a good job up and down the country providing quality services but keeping their costs and their tax bills under control.
“And I also think we fought a strong campaign explaining why we need to take difficult decisions to sort out the mess we inherited from Labour.”
Mr Clegg earlier told the BBC the Lib Dems were facing “the brunt of the blame” for coalition spending cuts, adding that, for some voters, they were bringing out “memories of things under Thatcher”.
But he promised to “redouble our efforts” and “get up and dust ourselves down”.
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