The coalition may be united, but in the Commons its adversarial politics as usual

James Forsyth reviews the week in politics

In this era of ‘new politics’, one might have expected a new, more consensual style of debate in the Commons chamber. But judging by the opening days of the debate on the Queen’s speech, we have got quite the opposite. MPs are keener than ever to shout each other down, to cheer their own side and barrack the other. The one difference from the last parliament is that many of the new Labour MPs make their point by clapping rather than bellowing the traditional ‘hear him, hear him’.

Oddly enough, it is the coalition — the very apogee of this new more consensual politics — that is making MPs behave like this. The Tory-Lib Dem alliance has raised the partisan stakes for all three parties.

Many Labour MPs believe that the Liberal Democrats’ decision to go into government with the Tories provides them with an opportunity to destroy their opposition on the left.