The eclectic ideological nature of the coalition is still enjoying a honeymoon but on Tuesday evening the cracks started to appear between the left and right of each respective party. Whilst this week we have been reminded that the unified focus remains firmly upon deficit reduction from Number 11, little commentary has been heard about any respective divisions within the new alliance. That was until Chris Huhne, widely regarded as part of the social left within the Liberal Democrats, was appointed secretary for energy and climate change, in turn laying the first ‘banana skin’ for Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg.
The Centre for Policy Studies, a Conservative thinktank, was the medium in which a handful of acclaimed future leading Conservative MPs showed their hands on Mr Huhne’s credentials. The event, chaired by Fraser Nelson, editor of the Spectator, set the tone for what was a stark commentary on the possible future of the coalition.
“Is it possible to get into bed with these guys for five years and not catch something?” asked Fraser Nelson
If you ever needed a crash course in stereotype Conservative sentiment, this small gathering of 20 upcoming people could deliver it, and deliver it they did.
In addition to the former News of the World columnist, the panel consisted of Charlie Elphicke, MP for Dover, John Glen, MP for Salisbury, Margot James, MP for Stourbridge, Laura Sandys, MP for South Thanet and Nadhim Zahawi, MP for Stratford-upon-Avon. All six new members of parliament individually proclaimed to be from the right of the Conservatives laid individual claim to past Thatcherite policies in turn.
The gun was loaded, the trigger set and now the target acquired: energy policy and in particular wind technology. Chris Huhne’s recent promise that he would play a significant part in delivering Cameron’s promise of the greenest government in history focused around Wind Week 2010 and the use of wind energy as the key driver behind green growth. Nadhim Zahawi failed to see the future for such growth claiming ‘onshore wind farming is simply not worth it. We missed the trick in the 1980s not adopting nuclear like the French, and now they lead the world where we should have a competitive advantage’.
In continuing fashion, the rebuttal from Charlie Elphicke converged specifically around the ‘lack of promise from wind technology’ and the urgent need to consult the public (Q big society!) on the pressing issues to regain an understanding of the current situation. ‘We need to ask the public whether they are concerned about pollution, about fuel bill prices and emissions. My feeling is that we need lots of fast-tracked nuclear plants and fuel-celled cars, but certainly not wind.’
Similarly John Glen argued vehemently that the failure of Chris Huhne to accept that Britain had a nuclear future left many colleagues feeling out of touch with his department: ‘He [Huhne] has his politics wrong, it is about principles and practicalities and unfortunately he ignores the latter. Chris needs to keep quiet and realise government is about governing’.
The panel were united in their scepticism of the environmentalism posited by Huhne and in particular the efficacy of wind technology, all but Laura Sandys whose constituency claims the largest number of wind farms in Europe. That withstanding, she joined the rest of the panel in expressing dismay at the Liberal Democrats’ version of a nuclear-free future: ‘the issue is actually dependency, not environmental targets and Chris needs to understand this’.
Margot James MP for Stourbridge went further stating, ‘How can we have a head of our policy who doesn’t believe in sound energy independence? Furthermore, wind technologies are regularly favoured ahead of other more effective alternatives such a tidal and solar and he should review this’.
Where Fraser Nelson had opened the evening with a strong attack on the policy and head of the department for energy, the end was fitting also. Nelson asked ‘How on earth did he [Huhne] get the position? He is left of what we need, and there is even talk of him abstaining on his policies which, whilst making for good viewing, it would be quite bizarre’.
The clear position on the evening was an air of deep suspicion starting to seep into the alliance. The economic Lib Dems are seemingly finding common ground with Tory ideology, but the sticking point was and is always going to be the other side of the Lib Dem fence where Chris Huhne and the like reside, something the coalition will evidently need to address in due course if they hope to prevent fractionalism.