Matt's Crow Country: Coalition government may not be a disaster

SO, as expected, the UK Parliament is well hung. With last week s election having failed to produce a clear winner, talks between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats were on-going, and by the time you read this we may well know the make-up of the c

SO, as expected, the UK Parliament is well hung.

With last week's election having failed to produce a clear winner, talks between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats were on-going, and by the time you read this we may well know the make-up of the country's new coalition government.

There was a lot of scare-mongering going on in the national press before the election about the prospect of a hung parliament with no party in overall control.

But now that it is upon us, am I the only one who doesn't think it's such a bad thing?

A coalition should ensure that we get a more balanced government.

I dislike the Conservatives' policies on social issues, and consider their stance on immigration to be intolerant.

But the measures they propose to get the economy moving will undoubtedly be popular with a lot of businesses, so some kind of deal which would see them compromise on a more tolerant social approach - such as the one espoused by the Lib Dems - while keeping some of their other key policies could work well for Britain.

Coalition governments are a lot more common in Europe, where most countries use the proportional representation voting system, and on the whole the consequences aren't disastrous.

It may be a bit unusual for this country, but hopefully whoever is involved in the next cabinet will be able to make it work.