Friday, November 08, 2024

Thought for the Day: Lord Macaulay on coalitions

I've just been sorting out some old papers, including a folder of press cuttings that I obviously thought might come in useful one day for something I was writing. Today they would be Chrome bookmarks.

One cutting is what looks like a Guardian Diary item inspired by Paddy Ashdown and Tony Blair's grand strategy. It includes this comment on the errors of Fox and Lord North from one of Lord Macaulay's essays on the younger Pitt:

They ought to have known that coalitions between parties which have long been hostile can succeed only when the wish for coalition pervades the lower ranks of both.

Discuss with relation to the Cameron-Clegg coalition of 2010-15.

1 comment:

David Evans said...

Hi Jonathan,

Don't forget though that Chrome bookmarks can become unusable if the article has been moved or deleted. Lots of good but old pre 2010 Lib Dem stuff has long since disappeared.

Paper copies or saved screenprints rule!

David