David Maddox: How can the Tory-Lib Dem coalition go the distance when they clearly dislike each other so much

FOR a party that wears its democratic credentials in its name, it seems remarkable that two of the most influential members of the Liberal Democrats have no electoral mandate.

The membership rebellion over the much-derided Health Bill, which applies only to England, was led by Baroness Shirley Williams, who has not been an MP since she was turfed out by the voters of Crosby in 1983, and by Dr Evan Harris, who lost his seat in 2010.

Anybody following the progress of the debate on Sunday on Twitter could not fail to be struck by how craven the Lib Dems were in waiting to hear what the noble Baroness of Crosby would say before deciding how to cast their votes.

In contrast, nobody seemed to care what Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg had to say, and the party’s MPs, who have won some sort of mandate from voters, did not even feature.

At the heart of this debate was one of integrity, which the Lib Dems lost over the weekend. True, the Health Bill is unpopular and not part of the coalition agreement, but as partners in the government the Lib Dems do share in collective responsibility. When a previous Lib Dem conference asked for 13 changes, Tory Health Secretary Andrew Lansley and Prime Minister David Cameron infuriated their own supporters by agreeing to them, and yet on Sunday the Lib Dems threw the bill back in the Tories’ face.

But what is happening is that the Lib Dem membership, never happy with the 2010 deal with the Tories, are now finally completely dissociating themselves from it. For them, Mr Clegg and the MPs who signed this deal and have made concessions “too far” on tuition fees and welfare reform have effectively sold out for power, and as such they look to others for leadership.

Shirley Williams, a former Labour Cabinet minister and one of the SDP’s “gang of four”, is the one figure they have who can be considered an elder statesman in terms of ministerial experience.

Then Dr Harris, dubbed Dr Death by those on the right who detest him because of his promotion of euthanasia, has been doing his upmost to undermine the coalition from day one. Interestingly, he was let back into the parliamentary precincts by Baroness Williams, who gave him a pass for her office.

It is clear the official Lib Dem leadership is feeling the pressure from this alternative moral leadership, which is why ministers, including Vince Cable and Mr Clegg, have been doing their Budget negotiations in public.

But while the membership is seeking an alternative moral leadership to take them away from the Tories the same can be said of the Tories themselves. There are regular vocal back-bench complaints about the undue influence of the Lib Dems.

With three years of this coalition to go, it is sometimes hard to see how two groups of people who clearly dislike one another so much can go the distance.