by Jon Stone

The Liberal Democrats might feel a little bit hard-done-by at the news David Cameron is ditching House of Lords reform to placate his backbenchers.

Here’s a quick reminder of what was dangled in front of the party to dupe them into giving the Tories a majority.

All quotes are from the Coalition Agreement.



1) No top-down reorganisations of the NHS

“We will stop the top-down reorganisations of the NHS that have got in the way of patient care.” What actually happened: The biggest NHS overhaul in the service’s history.

2) Extending Freedom of information

“We will extend the scope of the Freedom of Information Act to provide greater transparency.” What actually happened: The Government ignored existing FOI law for political reasons: a move the Information Commissioner slammed as “unjustified”. FOI law has not been extended.

3) Directly elected Primary Care Trusts

“We will ensure that there is a stronger voice for patients locally through directly elected individuals on the boards of their local primary care trust (PCT). The remainder of the PCT’s board will be appointed by the relevant local authority or authorities.” What actually happened: PCTs were abolished as part of Andrew Lansley’s NHS reforms, announced two months after the coalition agreement was published.

4) Equalising capital gains and income taxes

“We will seek ways of taxing non-business capital gains at a rate similar or close to those applied to income, with generous exemptions for entrepreneurial business activity.” What actually happened: CGT’s top rate is 28%, while income tax’s top rate is 45%.

5) Restore the right to protest

“We will restore rights to non-violent protest … We will introduce safeguards against the misuse of anti-terrorism legislation.” What actually happened: No anti-protest laws have been repealed, and there have been an increasing number of high profile mass arrests of peaceful demonstrators: last week more than 130 cyclists were mass-arrested for holding an event near the Olympic Park, while at a protest last year 145 protesters holding a peaceful sit-in were mass-arrested and harassed by the Crown Prosecution Service for a year.

6) No arms exports to repressive regimes

“We will support defence jobs through exports that are used for legitimate purposes, not internal repression.” What actually happened: At the height of the Arab Spring David Cameron went on a tour of middle eastern dictatorships, bringing with him representatives from international arms companies – who specifically hawked anti-crowd weaponry to autocrats.

7) Value for money from workfare contracts

“We will realign contracts with welfare to work service providers to reflect more closely the results they achieve in getting people back into work.” What actually happened: The Government’s new work programme paid it’s largest workfare contractor A4E £45m to secure 4000 unemployed people permanent roles, with a 3.5% success rate.

8) Limit the number of special advisers

“We will put a limit on the number of special advisers.” What actually happened: The number of government special advisers climbed to its all-time high, and the salary bill has soared.

9) Safeguard academic integrity in university research funding

“We will ensure that public funding mechanisms for university research safeguard its academic integrity.” What actually happened: The Government blackmailed the Arts and Humanities Research Council into introducing the Tories’ “Big Society” as a major research theme in universities.

10) House of Lords reform

“We will establish a committee to bring forward proposals for a wholly or mainly elected upper chamber on the basis of proportional representation.” What actually happened: Conservative MPs simply refused to vote for the agreed proposals, and the Government is backing down.