For the record I am a Lib Dem who is enthusiastic about the coalition despite the dire economic circumstances which the new government faces.
As a supporter of proportional representation and consensus politics, I believe coalition governments have the potential to be more measured and representative than huge single-party majorities which have been able to force poorly scrutinised bad legislation through the house of commons without much of a fight.
I reject the notion that the party has sold out or rejected it's principles. Being in government allows Liberal principles to be at the heart of policy making. Being marginalised in opposition with a Tory minority government would give Liberalism a muted voice in Parliament and would lead to unstable government at a time of economic severity. While undoubtedly it will be very difficult to watch Lib Dem MPs sit on their hands during votes on tuition or nuclear power, this government has the ability to make great strides forward in (among other things) making the tax system fairer and giving us back our civil liberties which were so heinously eroded by New Labour in the name of 'Counter-Terrorism'.
I won't claim to be writing from a particularly left or right wing position, and I'll try not to be slavishly partisan to the point of boredom. Hope you enjoy.
Mike
