The Cameron–Clegg coalition was formed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg when Cameron was invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new government, following the resignation of Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010, after the general election on 6 May. It was the UK's first coalition government since the Churchill war ministry ended in 1945.
The coalition was led by Cameron as prime minister with Clegg as deputy prime minister and composed of members of both Cameron's centre-right Conservative Party and Clegg's centrist Liberal Democrats. The Cabinet was made up of sixteen Conservatives and five Liberal Democrats, with eight other Conservatives and one other Liberal Democrat attending cabinet but not members. The coalition was succeeded by the single-party, second Cameron ministry following the 2015 election.
History
The previous Parliament had been dissolved on 12 April 2010 in advance of the general election on 6 May. The general election resulted in a hung parliament, with no single party having an overall majority in the House of Commons, for the first time in 36 years. The Conservatives emerged having the most seats, but 20 short of an overall majority.
In the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement of 11 May 2010, the two parties formed a coalition government. The new Parliament met on 18 May for the swearing-in of peers in the House of Lords and newly elected and returning members of parliament in the House of Commons, and the election for the speakership of the House of Commons. The Queen's Speech on 25 May set out the government's legislative agenda. Of the 57 Liberal Democrat MPs, only two refused to support the Conservative Coalition agreement, with former leader Charles Kennedy and Manchester Withington MP John Leech both rebelling.
The Liberal Democrats had five Cabinet members, including Nick Clegg as deputy prime minister, though after the Cabinet and ministerial reshuffle, David Laws, who was a Minister of State, was allowed to attend the Cabinet but was not a full member. If a Liberal Democrat minister resigned or was removed from office, another member of the same party would have had to be appointed to the Cabinet.
Each cabinet committee had a chair from one party and a deputy chair from the other; there was also a cabinet committee specifically overseeing the operation of the coalition. Both parties' ministers shared collective responsibility for the government's positions, although the coalition agreement detailed several issues on which the parties agreed to differ; the Liberal Democrats abstained from voting in such cases. Clegg, as Deputy Prime Minister, took Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) when David Cameron was unavailable.
Key decisions were made by a core group called the "Quad", made up of Cameron, Clegg, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, which decided "all major matters of policy" and resolved disputes between the two parties.
While the government's front benchers sat together in the House of Commons and the two parties acted as a bloc during PMQs, the Liberal Democrat and Conservative backbenchers sat apart and each had their own whips, and the two parties competed in by-elections. On 4 September 2012, Cameron reshuffled his cabinet for the first time. He reshuffled his cabinet for the second time on 14 July 2014.
Cabinets
May 2010 – September 2012
Party key Conservative Liberal Democrat + First Cabinet of Cameron–Clegg Coalition PortfolioPortrait Minister Term Cabinet ministers Prime MinisterFirst Lord of the TreasuryMinister for the Civil Service David Cameron2010–16 Deputy Prime MinisterLord President of the Council Nick Clegg2010–15 First Secretary of StateForeign Secretary William Hague2010–14 Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne2010–16 Home SecretaryMinister for Women and Equality Theresa May2010–16 Lord High Chancellor of Great BritainSecretary of State for Justice Kenneth Clarke2010–12 Secretary of State for Defence Liam Fox 2010–11 Philip Hammond 2011–14 Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and SkillsPresident of the Board of Trade Vince Cable2010–15 Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan Smith2010–16 Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne 2010–12 Ed Davey 2012–15 Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley2010–12 Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove2010–14 Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles2010–15Secretary of State for Transport Philip Hammond 2010–11 Justine Greening 2011–12 Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Caroline Spelman2010–12 Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell2010–12 Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Owen Paterson2010–12 Secretary of State for Scotland Danny Alexander 2010 Michael Moore 2010–13 Secretary of State for Wales Cheryl Gillan2010–12 Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt2010–12 Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Laws 2010 Danny Alexander 2010–15 Leader of the House of LordsChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Thomas Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde2010–13 Minister without Portfolio Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi2010–12Also attending cabinet meetings Minister for the Cabinet OfficePaymaster General Francis Maude2010–15 Minister of State in the Cabinet Office Oliver Letwin2010–14 Minister of State for Universities and Science David Willetts2010–14 Leader of the House of CommonsLord Keeper of the Privy Seal Sir George Young, 6th Baronet2010–12 Chief Whip in the House of CommonsParliamentary Secretary to the Treasury Patrick McLoughlin2010–12 Also attends cabinet when ministerial responsibilities are on the agenda Attorney General Dominic Grieve2010–14
Changes David Laws resigned as Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 29 May 2010 because of an expenses irregularity dating from the previous Parliament. He was replaced by Danny Alexander, who was in turn replaced as Secretary of State for Scotland by Michael Moore. On 14 October 2011 Liam Fox resigned as Secretary of State for Defence following the procurement of high-level overseas meetings attendance for his friend and advisor, Adam Werrity, working for a private contractor, and stated that he had "mistakenly allowed the distinction between my personal interest and my government activities to become blurred". His successor was Philip Hammond, who was replaced as Transport Secretary by Justine Greening, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, who was in turn replaced by Chloe Smith, an assistant government whip: she was replaced in turn by Greg Hands. On 3 February 2012 Chris Huhne resigned as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change following the decision of the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute him and his former wife. His successor was Ed Davey, who was replaced as a Parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills by Norman Lamb, replaced in his previous dual roles by Jenny Willott as an Assistant Whip and Jo Swinson as the Parliamentary private secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister.
September 2012 – July 2014
Party key Conservative Liberal Democrat + Second Cabinet of Cameron–Clegg Coalition PortfolioPortrait Minister Term Cabinet ministers Prime MinisterFirst Lord of the TreasuryMinister for the Civil Service David Cameron 2010–16 Deputy Prime MinisterLord President of the Council Nick Clegg 2010–15 First Secretary of StateForeign Secretary William Hague2010–14 Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne 2010–16 Home Secretary Theresa May 2010–16 Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander 2010–15 Secretary of State for Defence Philip Hammond 2011–14 Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and SkillsPresident of the Board of Trade Vince Cable 2010–15 Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan Smith 2010–16 Lord High Chancellor of Great BritainSecretary of State for Justice Chris Grayling 2012–15 Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove 2010–14 Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles 2010–15 Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt 2012–16Leader of the House of LordsChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Thomas Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde 2010–13 Jonathan Hill, Baron Hill of Oareford 2013–14 Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Owen Paterson 2012–14 Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening 2012–16Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore 2010–13 Alistair Carmichael 2013–15 Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey 2012–15 Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin 2012–16Secretary of State for Culture, Media and SportMinister for Equalities Maria Miller 2012–14 Sajid Javid 2014 Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Theresa Villiers 2012–16 Secretary of State for Wales David Jones 2012–14Also attending cabinet meetings Minister without Portfolio Kenneth Clarke 2012–14 Leader of the House of CommonsLord Keeper of the Privy Seal Andrew Lansley 2012–14Chief Whip in the House of CommonsParliamentary Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Mitchell 2012 Sir George Young, 6th Baronet 2012–14 Minister for the Cabinet OfficePaymaster General Francis Maude 2010–15 Minister of State for Government Policy Oliver Letwin 2010–15 Minister of State for the Cabinet Office Minister of State for Schools David Laws 2012–15 Senior Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth AffairsSenior Minister of State for Faith and Communities Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi 2012–14 Minister of State for Universities and Science David Willetts 2010–14Financial Secretary to the Treasury Sajid Javid2013–14 Nicky Morgan 2014 Minister without PortfolioChairman of the Conservative Party Grant Shapps 2012–15 Also attends cabinet when ministerial responsibilities are on the agenda Attorney General Dominic Grieve 2010–14 Minister of State for Cities and Constitution Greg Clark 2012–14
Changes On 19 October 2012, Andrew Mitchell resigned as Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons following controversy surrounding an argument with police officers in Downing Street. He was replaced by Sir George Young. On 7 January 2013, Lord Strathclyde resigned as Leader of the House of Lords and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He was replaced by Lord Hill of Oareford. On 7 October 2013, Michael Moore was replaced as Secretary of State for Scotland by Alistair Carmichael, during a reshuffle which focused on junior ministerial ranks. On 9 April 2014, Maria Miller resigned as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Minister for Women and Equalities. She was replaced as Culture Secretary and Minister for Equalities by Sajid Javid, and by Nicky Morgan as Minister for Women. Morgan, who succeeded Javid as Financial Secretary to the Treasury, was not a full cabinet member but attended meetings in her role as Minister for Women.
July 2014 – May 2015
Party key Conservative Liberal Democrat