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[/audioplayer]Time was when the Conservatives believed that a small majority — which puts a government at the mercy of backbench rebels — would be worse than no majority at all. They dreaded the prospect. But now, well into their third month celebrating a majority of just 12 seats, it’s clear they’ve forgotten their fears about how precarious things could be. They talk as if they can now do anything — including implementing their manifesto in its entirety.
It won’t take long for David Cameron to discover the truth. In any controversial vote, people will rebel — it takes just seven of his 331 MPs to bring defeat. The Prime Minister worried about this before the election because he knew what his Commons colleagues could be like: independent-minded at the best of times, downright sadistic at worst and desperate to humiliate their leader.
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