http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8675265.stm

details are emerging from Conservative sources about the new government's programme, including:

* Plans for five-year, fixed-term parliaments
* The Lib Dems have agreed to drop plans for a "mansion tax", while the Conservatives have ditched their pledge to raise the inheritance tax threshold to £1m
* The new administration will scrap Labour's planned rise in National Insurance but some of the benefits will go on reducing income tax thresholds for lower earners
* A pledge to have a referendum on any further transfer of powers to the EU and a commitment from the Lib Dems not to adopt the euro for the lifetime of the next Parliament
* The Lib Dems have also agreed to Tory proposals for a cap on non-EU migration
* There wil be a "significant acceleration" of efforts to reduce the deficit - including £6bn of spending reductions this year

Mr Cameron has begun the work of appointing his first cabinet, with George Osborne confirmed as chancellor, William Hague as foreign secretary and Liam Fox as defence secretary.

Mr Clegg's chief of staff, Danny Alexander, is to be Scottish Secretary, the BBC understands.

A Downing Street spokesman said it had been agreed that five cabinet posts would be filled by Liberal Democrats, including the appointment of Mr Clegg, although there are expected to be about 20 Lib Dems in government jobs in total.

No "can" about it.  It pretty much has no chance of being anything BUT less proportional.  However, the "merit" to it Labour would say (outside of boosting their wins) is that everyone's vote "counts" as you move down the list of preference.

It's really not MUCH different then how you wanted a Labour/Lib Democrat coalition... except instead, the Liberal Democrats will just lose all their votes to the Labour party.

The other theory is that more people would vote for whatever party they felt like.  Feel like voting BNP but know they have no shot?  Vote BNP, UKIP then Consvervative.  Conservative will get the vote once the other two are eliminated.   Want to vote Green?  Vote Green, Lib Dem and Labor.  It will eventually go to Labor.

MAYBE those vote increases to smaller parties will lead to them building a stronger base that could challenge the others.

Obama probably just doesn't realize yet that Cameron isn't officially the guy until a coalition is formed.

The coalition has been formed now. I'm glad lib dems got the conservatives to ditch rising the inheritance tax threshold, but wish the marrage thing and the cap on immigration was gone too.

On inheritance tax, I really think farmers should be totally exempt. They are in debt already and most own well over the threshold now, just having relief is not enough.

True but farms are different to the usual businesses, mainly as many businesses in debt like farms are out of business. What are those concessions though? Less tax is still tax, Farms have acres and acres of land that can only be used for one thing, all marked as green field sites but this land is still worth lots of money plus the houses they live in bump up that price.

Even if it's reduced to 10% instead of the 40% (it is 40% inheritance tax right?), then 10% of 1,000,000 is still £100,000 and not many farmers or they families have that sort of money laying around, so they have to sell the land they have to pay for it leaving them with less land to make money from. Farms are people's lively hood and Britain's backbone, they need to be supported more.

Farms are usually family businesses though, having been in families and staying in the same families for generations, very unlikely to be owned for short periods.

Whether I am right or wrong though just shows my lack of knowledge on the situation at hand but that might just be luck about having never had to deal with it first hand.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8675705.stm - full details of the new cabinet.

George Osbourne as Chancellor, seriously?

What did you expect? It's one of the most important positions, no way the Tories would let that one go.