Coalition policies to focus on ‘long-term’

In a speech to the Institute of Government in London this morning, the deputy prime minister described the last Labour government’s approach as “short-termist”, and said the regular shuffling of junior ministers underminded the stability of government.

Mr Clegg promised that ministers in the coalition government would be given more time to prove themselves in their jobs without fear of being reshuffled.

He said: “Our political culture has become too focused on immediate needs and demands, rather than considering our obligations to the future. We need a further horizon – the horizon shift that I will address today.”

He warned that the changes to the way public services operate promised by the government could take years.

He said: “The truth is that real reform – of public services, of our political system, of our economic system – takes many years of patient execution of a strategy.”

“It falls to our political generation and to this generation as a whole, to take the necessary steps now for a better, fairer future. Reform and change today is necessary if we want mobility and prosperity tomorrow.

“That’s the horizon shift we need. That’s what the coalition government is about.”

Mr Clegg used the issue of dealing with the public finances to illustrate how the coalition government will have a long-term approach to governing, in spite of the risks to its popularity.

He said: “I knew before the election how difficult it was going to be just to sort out the public finances. I remember being roundly criticised for spelling out the scale of the cuts which would be necessary to balance the budget.

“I am under no illusions about the significant political risks both parties in the coalition are now taking by now facing up to these difficult decisions in government.”

But the Labour party pointed to a new survey on the effects of spending cuts to suggest that the coalition’s approach to the public finances was “reckless”.

Pat McFadden MP, the shadow business secretary, said the Experian research into the differing effect of spending cuts across English regions showed that the government’s policies would “hit the poorest areas hardest.”

He said: “The government’s reckless approach to the economy is a gamble with growth and jobs.”