30 March 2020
Emergency coalition government 'possible' to help tackle coronavirus
The UK could see pressure for the formation of a coalition government to tackle the present coronavirus emergency, a King’s College academic has argued.
Dr Andrew Blick, director of the Centre for British Politics and Government, noted that at times of national emergency in the past, the UK had established multi-party administrations.
They were judged necessary to ensure political and social consensus around extreme measures, such as suppression of personal freedoms.
He made his comments in an interview with Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV following news that senior members of the government, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, were self-isolating.
Dr Blick said: “Depending how bad things get, one thing you may see is the call for the formation of some kind of emergency coalition government – that’s possible. We haven’t seen that yet but it depends how bad things get.
“Certainly, in both world wars, in the First World War and Second World War in this country we brought together all parties into the government.”
You can watch the interview here
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Head of the Department of Political Economy and Professor of Politics and Contemporary History