Liberal Democrat ministers are discovering the Conservative facts of life

The evening before the government was formed, I walked back from the television tent city on College Green to the House of Commons with a man who was about to become a cabinet minister.

The evening before the government was formed, I walked back from the television tent city on College Green to the House of Commons with a man who was about to become a cabinet minister. Conversation turned, predictably, to the forthcoming coalition. He argued that one of the major advantages of it for the Conservatives was that it would drag the Liberal Democrats rightwards, tipping the balance in the party in favour of its liberal wing and against its social democratic one. His rationale was simple: the reality of government takes politicians to the right. As Margaret Thatcher liked to say, the facts of life are Conservative.

His prediction has been proved right. The Lib Dems are moving to the right at an impressive clip — in their language, their outlook, their instincts and their policies.