Coalition means compromise

I'm finally back after several months, busy chairing a waste PFI councillors' working group, then chairing the County Council Scrutiny Committee for Children and Young People, and then chairing the local Libdem party. Clearly too much chairing, so I aim to do less of that soon.

There is some consternation at the moment amongst our supporters about the coalition. We have to accept that we didn't win the election and coalition means compromise - we get some of our policies (and we have) but have to put up with some of the policies of the other coalition partner. On balance I think that stops too many extreme policies from any party.

Perhaps we should realise that we have actually been campaigning for years for compromise - proportional representation (PR) is much more likely to deliver a coalition than the present electoral system. Likewise the Alternative Vote (AV) which we all want ..... don't we?