The Age of Coalition.

On May 6th i did something i had never done before... voted. Politics never inspired me in the past to do anything other than say "My vote wont make a difference". With that in mind, and my new found interest in politics i promised myself i would vote and that i would vote for whoever i felt grabbed my attention during the campaigns.

I liked Gordon Brown. I think he was dealt a shoddy hand but handled himself, Bigot-gate aside, very well and always with a sense of dignity. David Cameron never appealed to me, the Conservatives in my eyes were always the "Richer" party. I was always told of how the working class family disliked Thatcher and the rich got richer and the poorer got poorer. Nick Clegg was always an outsider, never in the spotlight and most people wouldn't have recognised him in a identity parade.

With predictions of a hung parliament months before the elections opened, i felt my vote would now count more than ever, i felt enthralled by the chaos and media frenzy that accompanied the general election. It was something that entertained millions of people and sparked into life some amazing scenes on voting day. The constant coverage on TV made it feel like a life changing moment, one of those "Can you remember where you were?" moments.

With the obvious hung parliament, David Cameron needed to form a coalition with one of the smaller parties, which left the Liberal Democrats in a very powerful position. Nick Clegg who was the under-dog from day one, now had both of the larger parties fighting for his allegiance to form the next government. He was the deal maker, the person who had the say in the next government. He chose the Conservatives, who held the largest share of the votes but fell short of the majority needed for a single party government. Under the terms of the coalition, this would put Nick Clegg as the Deputy PM, the first liberal since David Lloyd George during WW1 to hold any position of power within the british government.

I voted for Nick Clegg on polling day and i am glad he now holds a position within the cabinet because i think he has the attitude a modern politician needs, i think he is approachable and dare i say it, quite honest. Cameron, has endeared me to him a little more with the compromises on key policies.

I liked the whole experience of the live TV debates, campaigning and Media coverage surrounding the election and also the uncertain days after it was declared a hung parliament. It sounded so exciting when a lonely man, in the middle of downing street, declared that "Her Majesty, The Queen, has asked me to form a government and i have accepted". I am also a proud believer in our monarchy. I hate it when people question the "point" of them being around, i think them being here is great for our country and a reminder that what our country was, and still is, like. I am a proud believer in tradition and wouldn't change any of it.

One thing on voting day that really got at me was the people who complained about not being able to exercise their democratic right to vote. The polls were open for 15 hours, 7am - 10pm and one woman that had been to the polling station on 4 different occasions left because the queue was too long. I mean, can someone of your age be that stupid? Stay in the queue. You don't walk round the supermarket, fill your basket, get to the checkouts and because the lines are too long, walk away and leave your shopping do you? Use some common sense and queue up like everyone else. I can understand some peoples frustrations when they have actually stayed in the queue for hours and got nowhere. But when push comes to shove, they are rules that this country has followed for decades, and i wouldn't change them.

So now it is time for David Cameron PM & Nick Clegg D-PM to show the country what they can both do and pull us back up to the heights this country was once at.