Our starting point is that previous Conservative governments - and Conservative-Liberal coalitions - have won elections even while presiding over mass unemployment and deep cuts to public services.

Conservative-Liberal coalition (2001-2011)

In August 2010, Brittan returned to the government under the Conservative-Liberal coalition acting as a trade advisor.

He was speaker for the Newfoundland assembly from 1883 until 1885, when Kent resigned as speaker after a Conservative-Liberal coalition broke up.

Rather than changing course and taking measures to boost growth, the Conservative-Liberal coalition is doubling down on austerity.

The Cabinet then dispersed, expecting that next day another government, presumably a Conservative-Liberal coalition, would be formed.

Details of the cuts to government spending under the Conservative-Liberal coalition can be found in the following article: United Kingdom government austerity programme.

Also, the Conservative-Liberal coalition would still be seven seats short of a majority, and the government would probably not have long survived.

But since the middle of last year, when the Conservative-Liberal coalition announced substantial budget cuts to balance the budget, growth has virtually disappeared.

The deals stretch back to 1983 when the council was run by a Conservative-Liberal coalition.