In this episode we explore the highs and lows of coalition government through the eyes of Alistair Carmichael, former Deputy Government Chief Whip for the Liberal Democrats during the 2010-2015 coalition. Carmichael reflects candidly on how he personally navigated the seismic challenges of coalition politics, from managing party discipline to reconciling conflicting priorities within the government to providing pastoral support to colleagues.
Alistair Carmichael offers a fascinating account of the inner workings of the coalition government, discussing the monumental challenges faced during his time as Deputy Chief Whip in the coalition government. Reflecting on the dynamic interplay between national, party, and constituency interests, he describes the delicate balance required to maintain stability during a period of economic crisis. The conversation sheds light on the nuanced strategies he employed to hold his party together, including persuading MPs to support controversial policies like the rise in tuition fees, and how he worked to maintain cohesion within a fractious parliamentary party.
He shares vivid memories of key moments in the coalition, including the volcanic ash cloud that disrupted his campaign and the EU budget veto that nearly shattered government unity. He also discusses the pastoral side of his role, describing how he supported MPs through personal and professional crises, even as he juggled the unique challenges of representing one of the UK’s most remote constituencies. His reflections highlight the personal toll of coalition politics but also affirm his belief in the value of entering government to make a meaningful difference
The episode concludes with Carmichael’s thoughts on the legacy of the coalition and lessons for future Liberal Democrats.
Alistair Carmichael MP
The Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP is a Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament, representing the Orkney and Shetland constituency. Since becoming an MP in 2001, Alistair has served in several positions on the Liberal Democrat frontbench, most notably as a Government Whip (2010-13) and as Secretary of State for Scotland (2013-15) during the coalition government. In September 2024, he was elected as the chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.
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[00:00:00] Intro: You are listening to Parliament Matters, a Hansard Society production, supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Learn more at hansardsociety.org.uk/PM.
[00:00:17] Ruth Fox: Welcome to Parliament Matters Whipping Yarns, our series peering into the hidden world of Westminster's whips. I'm Ruth Fox.
[00:00:24] Mark D'Arcy: And I'm Mark D'Arcy for decades, the Lib Dems had hoped to win enough MPs to force their way into government in coalition with one of the bigger parties. In 2010, under Nick Clegg, they finally achieved that dream, only to see the prize turn to ashes in an electoral debacle in 2015.
[00:00:41] Ruth Fox: And one of the few senior Lib Dems to survive the wrath of the voters was Alistair Carmichael, who entered government as Deputy Chief Whip, and soon had to persuade his MPs to abandon key promises to the electorate, in particular on student tuition fees.
[00:00:56] Mark D'Arcy: We began by asking him what it was like after long years as the third party to enter government.
[00:01:03] Alistair Carmichael: I don't think I can really actually sum it up in a single word. I mean, first of all, we had had a run up to the 2010 election campaign that had lasted for about six months. You know, everybody knew it was coming, but you had to wait, and we were in constant campaign mode. We then had the campaign itself.
[00:01:22] You may remember, in the middle of the campaign, we were hit by a cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland. Which, if you were, as I was trying to do, get round 34 inhabited islands in Orkney and Shetland, plus be available to take part in television interviews and debates in Edinburgh and Glasgow, it was exhausting.
[00:01:44] The first memory I have of the period after that election was on the Saturday morning, I was flying out of Orkney to come down here for the first meeting of the parliamentary party, and in Kirkwall Airport, having got my boarding pass, I went and sat down with a cup of coffee, and on a pretty hard, uncomfortable airport seat, fell asleep.
[00:02:07] The airport staff came and sort of woke me up and said, Alistair, everybody else is on the plane, you have to go through security now. So, I got here, and actually, although I had seen the arithmetic, I knew what the outcome of the election was, it was only really when I got to the LGA building in Smith Square that I had to fight my way through the waiting press corps, which is not normal, let me tell you, for Liberal Democrat parliamentary party meetings.
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