Bagehot updates us on the search for common ground in British politics:
Unsurprisingly, lots of figures in the magic circle of the Coalition are getting good at coming up with solutions for problems, or at least analyses of problems, that bridge (or at least paper over) that divide. They offer pragmatic, often rather modest sounding proposals, with a bit of a market tinge (lots of talk about consumer choice and people power). These modest proposals have the great virtue of not exposing philosophical rifts between the right and left fringes of the Coalition. My problem is this: I have the strange hunch that the people advancing these proposals do not believe they will do the job.
Massie studies approval numbers. Another gauge of the coalition's health:
Liberal Democrat membership in England is up 14% this year while existing members are renewing their subscriptions at an increased rate too. As I say, this ought not to be considered too great a surprise but it's worth bearing in mind next time someone tries to persuade you that being in government with the Tories will and must ruin Nick Clegg's party.