... are funny.  Watching lots of news during the last few days as I'm on leave and it's all been about the coalition government of Tories and Lib Dems.

Countless reports, items, blogs etc all behaving as if they've invented coalition government for the first time - the novelty, how will it work, how can parties which ran against each other possibly cooperate in forming a government.

Okay, it's the first coalition government in Great Britain since the war, but really, everyone else has been doing it for years.  I'm sure a quick google will tell you how it works.  You really don't need highly paid journalists, political editors, standing on the street determined to prove that events are "extraordinary" or "jaw-dropping", and wondering how it could possibly happen and gosh, how will Prime Minister's Question Time operate?

And how it works is that unless the smaller party has a particular regional focus that ensures its ongoing support, well at the next election the smaller party is destroyed - that's how it works.

So that's something to look forward to in May 2015. 

Not sure what to make of fixed term parliaments.  It's an extraordinary power for a Prime Minister to give up.  Makes me rather nervous - what genuine leader freely gives up power like that?  And really, it only works where you've a genuine separation of powers.  Because how can a government continue if it doesn't have support of parliament?  And then to add insult to injury he want's to make it harder for parliament to bring down a government by requiring 55% for a vote of no confidence.  Tha't is outrageous.  Gerald Warner is calling it a coup d'etat.