Interview: Judge us in five years' time, pleads Danny Alexander

Published on Friday 17 September 2010 15:20

A MERE 13 weeks ago, Danny Alexander was an obscure Highlands MP, who, for those in the Westminster village, was best known for being Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg's right-hand man.

• Danny Alexander says he works well with the Chancellor, George Osborne

But as he prepares to give his first speech to the Liberal Democrats' party conference as a cabinet minister, Mr Alexander has become a pivotal figure in British politics.

He was the man who headed the party's coalition negotiations and now, following the resignation of David Laws, he is the face of public cuts in his role as Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

But speaking to The Scotsman ahead of the conference from his office deep in the Treasury, a relaxed and happy-looking Mr Alexander revealed that he was drawing support from a source which he would not have expected a few months ago.

• Profile: Danny Alexander

"(Chancellor] George Osborne and I work very well together. We have a very close relationship and I think that works well within the Treasury," he said. "I think frankly we get on an awful lot better than the last lot did and as a result we will achieve a lot more than they did. On a personal level we get on very well."

For a man who started his career back in 1993 as a press officer for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, he has needed support for what he admits is the "toughest job of my life".

"It is an enormous responsibility but it is also a privilege to have a chance to serve the country at what is one of the most difficult times that our economy has had for many decades," he adds. But his friendship with the man he had previously derided and considered a political enemy did surprise him.

"In a sense it was one of the things that made the coalition talks very successful so it wasn't a surprise to me coming here (to the Treasury] because we had already had that process, but one of the things that was a pleasant surprise when we first went into those negotiations was the chemistry and the way we got on well together and the way we were able to work through things in a businesslike fashion.

"I think also the fact that you do have a coalition and that when there are problems they are resolved in a more rational way. They are resolved on evidence based on the problem. Ministers who treat each other in a decent way even when they disagree and I think that's a good way for government to work."He says that the chemistry is good between Tory and Lib Dem ministers across the government, so is this cosy relationship the beginning of a new centre-right consensus in British politics?

The question makes him suck in his cheeks audibly.

"We are a coalition but we are two separate independent parties with independent traditions and different philosophies who have come together under difficult circumstances and have managed to create a very valuable programme for government for the next five years, so we are in this for five years."

He would not say which party wanted the Lib Dems to have the post of Chief Secretary, arguably the least popular post in government, but said that they "mutually" agreed it was a good idea.

Mr Alexander now spends long hours poring over papers and departmental reports in the Treasury, but he believes it is all worth it if the coalition can get the job done.

However, he is aware that people have described him as "the lightning rod for the Lib Dems" the man who will be blamed for getting into bed with the Tories and delivering its cuts.

Labour have claimed all the Lib Dems got out of the coalition agreement was "ministerial cars".

Mr Alexander said: "I don't even have ministerial car any more! I chose to give up the car for reasons of economy and there is a pool car system. So even that jibe isn't true."

But, despite previous Liberal coalitions with the Tories ending up with disaster at the polls, he believes the experience in Scotland shows that recent history, at least, is on the party's side.

"I was talking to (former Deputy First Minister and Scottish Lib Dem leader] Jim Wallace, who I'm delighted is a minister in this government, about this," he said."He was talking about his experience when he was Deputy First Minister (in coalition with Labour] and in the first year there was a lot of criticism of the Liberal Democrats and the experience of them being in government.

"But over the course of that four years people saw that things were being done differently in Scotland and policies were being delivered differently in Scotland that wouldn't have been if it hadn't been for the Lib Dem involvement in government.

"And I say to people about this coalition is judge us over five years, judge us by what we do, judge us by our ability to deliver the safe and stable economy, which is the central purpose of the work I am doing and George Osborne is doing, and judge us when we have delivered the coalition agreement."

Mr Alexander argues passionately that his party has already left a Liberal mark on the coalition in just a few months by bringing 900,000 in the UK and about 100,000 in Scotland out of income tax next year, restoring pensions increases with earnings and getting to grips with tax avoidance by reforming capital gains tax.

And he is not convinced that his party will be punished at the polls in the Scottish Parliament election, as is widely predicted, despite joining with the Tories who have yet to detoxify their brand north of the Border.

"I don't agree with the downcast picture," he said. "You have the SNP who failed to deliver in government. Enormously ambitious promises to people and none of it's happened. They promised to dual almost every road in my constituency. Then you have got a Labour Party. It's level of irresponsibility is hard to fathom."