The coalition has found the second year of co-habitation more difficult than the first and it will find the coming year even more difficult given that House of Lords reform is on the agenda. But today’s Budget is a reminder of the political benefits of coalition.
When George Osborne stands up today and announces, for instance, the reduction in the 50p rate he will do so with the support of two parties. Equally, a minority Tory government wouldn’t have been able to get more spending cuts to help finance a tax cut through parliament.
It also seems that there should be measures in the Budget to please both Tory and Lib Dem backbenches. In terms of the parliamentary performance today, there’ll be two things I’ll be watching out for during Osborne’s speech. One is how Tory MPs react to the rise in the income tax threshold.
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