Following last Thursday's General Election in which none of the three main parties secured enough seats to form a governing majority, the Conservatives who did win the most seats and votes in the election, invited the Liberal Democrats to begin formal talks over the possibility of forming a new government. These talks concluded yesterday with the Liberal Democrats winning some key policy battles, including agreement that a referendum will take place on moving from the "first past the post" system currently used in the UK to the more representative, "Alternative Vote" method. Full details of the negotiations are still emerging, but other issues include adopting a fairer tax system with there set to be a "significant move" towards raising the income tax threshold to £10,000 in the first budget, a key Lib Dem election pledge.

ELDR Party President, Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck MEP, commented: "Nick Clegg had an enormous task on his hands following the election results and invitations from both the Conservative and Labour Parties to form a government. Both he and the Liberal Democrat negotiators have worked tirelessly in recent days to ensure the creation of a strong and stable government based on the party's values. I congratulate Nick and his team who are now in a position in government to implement the reforms and policies that will create a fairer society and a fairer political system in Britain."

Nick Clegg stated, "I'd like to say something directly to the nearly seven million people who supported the Liberal Democrats in the General Election last week. I am now acutely aware that I carry your hopes and aspirations into this coalition agreement. I am sure you have many questions, maybe many doubts. But I can assure you I would not have entered into this agreement unless I was genuinely convinced it was a unique opportunity to deliver the changes you and I believe in."

In addition to Nick Clegg being named Deputy Prime Minister, other cabinet appointments include Vince Cable as Business Secretary; David Laws as Chief Secretary to the Treasury; Chris Huhne as Energy and Climate Change Secretary; and Danny Alexander as Scottish Secretary. The Lib Dems also hold 14 ministerial positions.

ELDR commented previously that this election campaign could fundamentally change the British political landscape. With the formal creation of the first coalition government since the second world war and electoral reform firmly on the menu of the new parliament, there is no doubt about it that British politics is undergoing a monumental change, the "real change" that Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats have been calling for and which they can now help to deliver.