New British Government Gathers for First Meeting

Members of the cabinet have gathered for their first meeting, as David Cameron puts the finishing touches to his historic coalition government.

Photo: New British Government Gathers for First Meeting

The Tory leader will announce a string of junior government posts, which will include further Lib Dem appointments. He began the business of government on Wednesday evening with a first meeting of the new National Security Council, BBC News informs.

Cameron – befitting a man on his first day in a new house, and undertaking a new job – was beyond expansive in his opening remarks: "Today we are not just announcing a new government and new ministers. We are announcing a new politics. A new politics where the national interest is more important than party interest. Where co-operation wins out over confrontation. Where compromise, give and take, reasonable, civilised, grown-up behaviour is not a sign of weakness but of strength.

"One of the biggest problems of the last few years has been a chronic short-termism in government. With this coalition agreement we've got five years to think about the long term and to make the big decisions about our country's future. And that is the true significance of this new coalition. It can be a historic and seismic shift in our political landscape. This is the first coalition government for 65 years.", The Guardian reports.