Dispatches

A Year Inside Number 10 (2011x13)

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In May 2010 David Cameron and Nick Clegg announced they were forming the first coalition since the National Government during World War II. One year on, Andrew Rawnsley interviews the key politicians and their friends and foes to chronicle the trials and tribulations of the coalition. For the first time on television, 10 cabinet ministers, including Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, talk about how the coalition works, how compromises are reached and how they get on both personally and politically. It was made in the run-up to local elections and a referendum that will deliver the voters' first judgment on the Cameron/ Clegg partnership, and a pointer to each of their political fates. Rawnsley reveals how Lib-Dem and Conservative minsters reached compromises on student tuition fees and the on the pace and depth of the spending cuts. The programme explores the ongoing arguments about the NHS reforms and the direction of foreign policy in the wake of uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East. Who are the peace makers and who are the political winners and losers, and where are the cracks emerging after 12 months in office? Rawnsley also examines how Cameron has reorganised his Downing Street office in the wake of the Coulson scandal to avoid any further PR headaches, navigating through a steady drip of stories about health service cuts, and announcements about privatising our forests and scrapping school sports programmes.