Conservative - Liberal Democrat Coalition Agreement

The Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement (officially known as The Coalition: Our Programme for Government) was a policy document drawn up following the 2010 general election in the United Kingdom. It formed the terms of reference governing the Cameron–Clegg coalition, the newly formed coalition government comprising MPs from the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats.

The general election resulted in a hung parliament, with no party emerging with an overall majority in the House of Commons, for the first time since February 1974. As a result, the first and third parties in terms of votes and seats, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats respectively, entered into negotiations with the aim of forming a full coalition, the first since the Second World War.

The initial agreement was published on 12 May 2010 (dated 11 May), detailing what had been agreed in the various policy areas, in order for a coalition government to be able to be formed, with a final agreement published on 20 May.

The initial agreement was published on 12 May 2010. It consisted of a seven-page document, in 11 sections. In the foreword, it stated "These are the issues that needed to be resolved between us in order for us to work together as a strong and stable government". 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 11 sections were as follows:

To tackle the budget deficit and national debt, the agreement detailed "significantly accelerated reduction in the structural deficit" over the Parliament, with £6 billion cuts to be made in the financial year 2010–11, with plans to be published in an emergency budget within 50 days.

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