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1 online resource (streaming video file) (48 min. 23 sec.) ; 293650376 bytes |
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WESTMINSTER INSIDERSIs the new UK coalition government between the centre-right Conservatives and centre-left Liberal Democrats a marriage made in heaven or a marriage of convenience?George Negus travels to London for a special Dateline debate with four Westminster Insiders, to get the lowdown on what's been happening and whether they think it will succeed.Jackie Ashley is a columnist and political reporter for the Guardian newspaper and has a long background of covering politics as a TV and print journalist. Lord Matthew Oakeshott is a Liberal Democrat politician and currently Spokesperson for the Treasury, and Work and Pensions. He has been a pension fund investment manager for more than 30 years. He was made a life peer in 2000. Clare Short served as an MP in Birmingham from 1983, but stood down at this election. For most of that time she was a Labour MP, but resigned from the party in 2006 over Tony Blair's handling of the Iraq War. She served the rest of her term as an Independent. She spent six years as Secretary of State for International Development in the Blair government.Will Hutton is a former editor and ongoing columnist for The Observer newspaper. He is also Chief Executive of The Work Foundation, a consultancy advising on employment issues. He was recently appointed by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition government to head a review into public service pay. Will is a seasoned political commentator and a regular contributor to Dateline.WHO'S WHO?Just a few weeks ago, the United Kingdom faced its first hung parliament since 1974, with neither of the main parties, Conservative and Labour, having enough MPs to form a majority government.So the Liberal Democrats, traditionally seen as the third party, ended up with the deciding vote of who to form a government with... and they chose the Conservatives.The coalition has raised eyebrows among many, with the parties seen to have different standpoints on many issues - their election promises have already been amended to meet agreement - but Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron and Lib Dem Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg have vowed to unite in "a new politics where the national interest is more important than the party interest."David Cameron is 43 and Britain's youngest government leader for two centuries, being just a few months younger than Tony Blair when he took office. Cameron was educated at the elite Eton College, where Princes William and Harry also studied, and at Oxford University. He earned a top degree and got a job with the Conservative Party, then led by Margaret Thatcher, before leaving politics for seven years to work as communications chief for media company Carlton.He became MP for Witney, near Oxford, in 2001 and swiftly rose through the Conservative ranks. He replaced Michael Howard as party leader in December 2005, after the Tories' third consecutive election defeat at the hands of Blair's Labour.Much of his election campaign focused on modernising the Conservatives' traditional image, highlighting issues like the environment and social problems, and fielding candidates from a more diverse range of backgrounds than previously.Nick Clegg is the first Liberal to hold power in Britain for nearly 90 years, but his privileged past has led to comparisons with Conservative Cameron.Clegg was born in 1967 to a Dutch mother and a father descended from Russian nobility. He attended London's elite Westminster School, and went on to read social anthropology at Cambridge University. He also studied at the University of Minnesota and the College of Europe in Bruges.He was a Member of the European Parliament from 1999-2004, when he stood down to spend more time in the UK with his Spanish lawyer wife Miriam, with whom he has three sons.He's been an MP in Sheffield in northern England since 2005, and leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2007.The new cabinet includes members from both parties - click here for our photo gallery of who's who among the senior members of the cabinet, and go to SBS's World News Australia for more on the election results and new government.POWER POLITICSThe lights keep going out in power cuts across Venezuela, making life difficult and pushing up prices for its 26.8 million residents... and they want to know why.President Hugo Chavez blames it on the drought, which has left the country's hydropower infrastructure desperately short of water. He's encouraging people to save electricity so demand meets supply.But many think he's more interested in showing off his personal might in lavish military displays than really looking after the people. Protests are already taking place against the blackouts, which campaigners say could have been avoided with better political planning |
| Event |
Broadcast 2010-05-23 at 20:30:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: NC |
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Coalition governments.
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Economic history -- Evaluation.
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Electric power failures -- Prevention.
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Political science -- Decision making.
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Political stability -- Evaluation.
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Power resources -- Economic aspects.
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United Kingdom.
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Venezuela.
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Streaming video
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Ashley, Jackie, contributor
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Juan Carlos (Dancer), contributor
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Diaz, Rafael, contributor
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Espana, Luis Pedro, contributor
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Hutton, Will, contributor
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Leon, Douglas, contributor
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Lopez, Aixa, contributor
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Machado, Maria Corina, contributor
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Negus, George, host
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Oakeshott, Matthew, contributor
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O'Shea, David, reporter
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Short, Clare, contributor
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Villegas, Vladimir, contributor
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