Member News
The energy secretary has said that the coalition government marks the end of two-party politics in the UK.
Speaking at a lunch this afternoon with political journalists, Chris Huhne claimed that the voters have been moving away from the Labour/Conservative dynamic since the 1970s.
He suggested the process has been helped by devolution, and in the future he expects there to be at least four political groups, as is usual in many European countries.
Multi-party government would become the norm at Westminster, the energy secretary claimed.
He said that in the wake of the historic Lib Dem/Conservative coalition government, the voters will never again "be forced into the straitjacket" of two-party politics.
Huhne also said he does not intend to run for Lib Dem leader, a post he sought twice since he entered the Commons in 2005.
He revealed that there have been no disagreements in cabinet on party lines, and expressed confidence that the coalition will last.
Huhne said that the parties have "an equality of inexperience" of government, and they are more united than the Labour government during the long years of the Blair/Brown split.
He rejected questions about the long-term viability of his party, and claimed the Lib Dems would "thrive" in the years to come.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd
Steve Lee
13th Jul 2010 at 4:27 pm