8.18am: Good morning, Haroon Siddique here. Welcome to live coverage of the first day of the new coalition government. We can expect more information about who will take which post in the new government and more details about the deal struck between the Conservatives and Lib Dems.
Meanwhile, the race to succeed Gordon Brown has begun.
The former home secretary, Alan Johnson, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning that he will not be contesting the leadership and will back David Miliband, the former foreign secretary. As far as I'm aware he's the first senior Labour figure to back a successor to Brown. Johnson said Miliband was the party's "greatest talent".
8.41am: David Cameron arrived at No 10 just before 8am. Asked how he was feeling he just smiled and gave a small wave, according to the Press Association.
The Today programme just reported that Chris Huhne will be the new energy and climate secretary. That would mean the former Lib Dem leadership contender taking the job that was held by Greg Clark in the Conservative shadow cabinet. That should please those worried about the Tory commitment to tackling climate change, as the Lib Dems' manifesto was perceived as being quite positive on green issues.
But, if correct, it leaves open the question of who will be home secretary. Huhne, who was the Lib Dems' home affairs spokesman, was widely expected to fill that post, with the shadow home secretary Chris Grayling cast aside, after his gaffe about B&B owners having the right to to turn away gay couples.
8.55am: The papers all unsurprisingly lead with photos of Cameron and his wife Samantha outside No 10. Even the Daily Mirror grudgingly manages to squeeze a picture of the new prime minister and his wife into the bottom corner of its front page, with the image of Gordon Brown and his family departing office as its main picture.
The Daily Telegraph goes with the very simple "Cameron, PM".
The Times headline is also minimalist: "Embracing Change".
The Sun has the uninspiring "Dave New World".
The Independent has a pun: "David Cameron, leader of brokered Britain".
Interestingly, the only paper that mentions Clegg in its headline is the Guardian: "It's Cameron and Clegg".
But the most cringeworthy headline of the day goes to – no prizes for guessing – the Daily Mail. The paper has a picture of the prime minister with a hand on his pregnant wife's bump with the headline: "Baby, we made it"
I'll take a more detailed look at the papers soon.
9.13am: William Hague, confirmed as foreign secretary in the new government, told the Today programme that a document setting out the terms of the coalition would be published later today and would name areas – including the married tax allowance, nuclear power and university funding – where the Lib Dems will be allowed to abstain from government measures. He said he did not anticipate any disagreement on the issue of the UK's relationship with the EU.
We have written into this agreement that we agree there should be no further transfer of sovereignty or powers over the course of the next parliament, and that was not a difficult item to agree with the Liberal Democrats.
Hague confirmed that the new government intends to introduce fixed-term parliaments, with the next election to be held on the first Thursday of May 2015.
And he confirmed that the controversial former News of the World editor Andy Coulson will head the media operation of the coalition government. Incredibly, Hague said Coulson's appointment [just another reminder that he is the former NOTW editor who resigned over the phone-tapping scandal] would help avoid the "spin" of the New Labour years:
This government will be judged by whether it really brings down the deficit, reforms taxes so there is a fairer tax system, and improves the education system, not by whether it reannounces and misannounces and falsely announces a whole string of things every day, which was the style of the Blair and Brown years. We are determined to change that.
9.31am: Now that Cameron is safely inside No 10 the Conservative blogger Tim Montgomerie has seen fit to publish his analysis of where it all went wrong. Montgomerie has written a 7,000 word missive on ConservativeHome. He has penned a more digestible version for Comment is free:
Conservative election literature promised to change the economy, society and politics, but in each of those areas the message lacked bite on the doorstep. The shadow chancellor, George Osborne, never developed a consistent economic message, choosing – perhaps rightly – to downplay the austerity message in favour of caution. Unforgivably, the "big society" message favoured by the Tory head of strategy, Steve Hilton, was never poll-tested, and failed to cut through with most voters – and even frightened some. As for changing politics, Cameron did not capitalise on the way he led public anger on expenses last summer. Last year's party conference hardly referred to political reform, and the manifesto failed to capture the anti-politics mood that had persisted across the country.
Tory traditionalists were most disappointed at the reluctance of the party leadership to talk about issues such as immigration. Cameron's silence on this until the last part of the campaign was like Manchester United keeping Wayne Rooney on the bench until the last game of the season. Twice, when the Tories were flagging in the polls, commitments to cut tax rescued the Tory party – but you never got the impression that Cameron felt comfortable with these messages. In reality, he was probably better equipped to sell traditional Conservatism than his immediate, less reassuring predecessors.
Montgomerie has been holding this back until Cameron had sealed the deal. One of the architects of the election campaign, George Osborne, has already been confirmed as chancellor, another, Andy Coulson, will be head of media operations – so no ramifications so far. It will be interesting to see what effect publication of the document has. Right-wingers not predisposed towards Cameron will no doubt seize on it but then they now have a bigger worry – the reality of a coalition with the Lib Dems.
9.34am: Nick Clegg just arrived at Downing Street and shook hands with David Cameron on the steps. A historic moment.
9.42am: That's tomorrow's front page picture surely? Cameron shaking hands with Clegg in front of No 10. Both men had broad smiles on their faces and waved to the cameras. Cameron went into No 10, first followed by Clegg who place a reassuring hand on the prime minister's shoulder. Clegg's gesture reminded me of Bill Clinton, who would often use the hand on back/shoulder gesture.
9.52am: My colleague, the Guardian's home affairs editor, has tweeted that Michael Gove, who was the education minister in the shadow cabinet, could be the new home secretary.
Rumours that Michael Gove will be new home secretary persist. Great repeal bill on way but non-EU migrants cap - tough n' tender#ukelection
Gove as home secretary would make sense as he is an accomplished performer but education is likely to go to the Lib Dems' David Laws and Huhne, who was widely predicted to be home secretary, is becoming energy and climate change secretary (see 8.41am).
9.57am: The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg says that the Conservatives have given the Lib Dems proportional representation ... in the House of Lords.
There will be an elected second chamber, voted in using proportional representation, according to Kuenssberg. If correct, that's another Tory compromise that might not go down well with a number of backbenchers.
10.15am: The new foreign secretary has just arrived at the Foreign Office.
William Hague said the "omens are good" for the coalition to be a strong one: "I think it will be a strong government and the strongest we've had for some time."
The foreign secretary summed up the policies of the new government in the following terms:
It's the best of the Lib Dems' manifesto with the bulk of the Conservative manifesto.
He promised a "distinctive British foreign policy", reaching out to countries in south Asia, north Africa and South America, as well as maintaining the special relationship with the US.
10.21am: Vincent Cable is remaining tight-lipped on his new role, rumoured to be chief secretary to the Treasury, saying only that he has been told he will have a position but "details have yet to be agreed".
He said it was a "reasonable supposition" that his role would be related to the economy. He said: "The main issues within our manifestos have been accepted."
Cable said there had been "a lot of heart-searching" over the deal with the Tories and vigorous debate, but when the terms of the agreement were outlined the reaction from within the party was "very warm".
There's been a lot of heart-searching obviously ... There's been vigorous debate and we had one yesterday ... The spirit when we saw on paper, when we saw what had been negotiated, was very warm.
10.50am: Despite the triumphalism on the front pages of the right wing papers today, there are already plenty of doomsayers.
In the Daily Telegraph, Simon Heffer writes:
The scope for dissent that could bring down a coalition is unlimited. I do not just mean that of leftist Liberals dissatisfied with progress towards proportional representation, or shocked by the Euroscepticism of their partners, making trouble; I also mean that of the right of the Tory party, many of whom would, in these circumstances, have much preferred a minority government. And, as the ugly decisions are taken, they will not necessarily bring applause and favour to the party or parties responsible for them.
It is hard to see how an election can be postponed much beyond this time next year.
Max Hastings, in the Daily Mail, is similarly pessimistic about the prospects for the coalition:
We may expect tears before bedtime when important disputed proposals become the subject of Commons votes.
Lib Dems are, by their nature, men and women who wear their consciences as martyrs' crowns.
Responsibility for wielding the axe: Cameron is expected to appoint Vince Cable, "the nation's favourite fantasy chancellor", as chief secretary to the Treasury
I will bet my socks that before we are all much older, some of Clegg's MPs will break ranks, abstaining or voting against Tory legislation.
Both Heffer and Hastings predict the demise of the Lib Dems at the next election because their leftwing supporters will never forgive them for getting into bed with the Tories.
11.06am: The new chancellor, George Osborne, has arrived at the Treasury for his first day at work.
He said it was time to "roll up the sleeves and get Britain working".
No new government has inherited such a difficult economic situation from its predecessor. The rise in unemployment this morning is confirmation of that.
He said the country needed a "strong and stable government" and now it had one.
The coalition government would abolish Labour's planned national insurance rise and reform the tax system "so that it is fairer for people on lower and middle incomes".
He added:
And we are going to undertake long-term structural reforms of the banking system, on education and on welfare so that we have an economy that works for everyone. So now's the time to roll up the sleeves and get Britain working.
Meanwhile, the leftwinger John Cruddas is considering whether to run for leadership of the opposition, according to the Press Association.
Friends of the Dagenham MP, who came third in 2007's deputy leadership contest, said he had been receiving "a lot of calls and emails asking him to stand".
"He'll be considering how best to help rebuild the party over the next few days and weeks," said one.
11.14am: Everyone who signed up to receive updates from the Conservative party has received an email from David Cameron thanking them for their support and in effect selling them the coalition with the Lib Dems:
Of course, we must recognise that all coalitions are about compromise. This one is no different. And I want to take this opportunity to reassure about what was agreed.
The agreement commits the next government to a significantly accelerated reduction in the budget deficit, to cut £6bn of government waste this financial year and to stop the jobs tax. The agreement also allows us to carry out key elements of the reform agenda we outlined in our manifesto – an agenda vital to turning our country round – including welfare and school reform. Moreover, we have protected our nuclear deterrent. And there will be no amnesty for illegal immigrants, nor the handover of any additional powers to the EU.
Of course, the agreement also reflects the key priorities and objectives of the Liberal Democrats. This includes fairer funding in education, a fairer tax system and political reform – including a referendum on changing the voting system to the alternative vote.
But the past few days have not just been about compromise. What was clear as talks progressed is the common ground between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. And that is displayed in this agreement, with our commitment to building a green economy, decentralising power and protecting civil liberties – including scrapping ID cards.
We campaigned on the belief that we're all in this together – and can only solve our problems together to build a stronger, more responsible society. I am confident that the coming together of two political parties to form one strong government marks a new era for Britain and for British politics. Now, let's get down to work.
The BBC and Sky are both reporting that David Miliband will announce his bid to be the next leader of the Labour party this afternoon.
And Cathy Newman, from Channel 4 News, has just tweeted:
Team Miliband snr seem convinced Miliband jnr will stand for the Labour leadership...Talk about sibling rivalry...
11.23am: This is a great gallery by Guardian photographer Martin Argles showing Gordon Brown's last hours in Downing Street – including him taking the call from Nick Clegg that sealed his resignation.
11.28am: Chris Huhne just told the BBC he still does not know what role he will have in the new government but, asked about the prospect of being the next energy and climate change secretary, he said he would be "absolutely thrilled if that was the case".
Huhne said the biggest gap between the Conservatives and the Lib Dems was on public spending cuts. It was important for the credibility of the new government for cuts to begin this year, he said. The Lib Dems had said in their manifesto, along with Labour, that cuts should not begin until next year, but Huhne said:
I don't think there was ever as much difference [with the Conservatives] on that issue, frankly, as was sometimes painted.
The Green party is already trying to woo disaffected Lib Dem voters with a "big, open and comprehensive offer" to join the Greens. Patrick Harvie, Green MSP, said:
This is an extraordinary decision by the Lib Dem leadership, and thousands of their activists and voters will feel heavily betrayed today.
Many explicitly campaigned as the best way to keep the Tories out of power, as a party of radical change and a party of principle, and they have now been completely let down by Nick Clegg and his top team. These members and supporters did not work hard over the last weeks and months to see their party become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Tories.
We would therefore like to make a big, open and comprehensive offer to Lib Dem supporters to come now and talk to the Greens instead.
Theresa May is the first woman to go into No 10 to find out about a cabinet job, according to the BBC.
11.40am: The BBC is reporting that the Lib Dems will contest the Thirsk and Malton parliamentary election, which was delayed until 27 May because of the death of Ukip candidate John Boakes. How the campaign pans out will be fascinating. It's a safe Tory seat and the Lib Dems were a close third behind Labour last time so one imagines it will be a slightly subdued affair.
11.44am: Peter Hain has just announced the less than shocking news that he will not be standing for the Labour leadership.
Mediaguardian's Organ Grinder blog points out that the font size on the Daily Telegraph front page headline today – "Cameron, PM" – at over two inches high, could be its biggest ever.
It is apparently bigger than when the US elected its first black president and bigger than for the 7/7 attacks on London's transport system.
He's even bigger than the biggest scoop of the decade, day one of the Telegraph's expenses files.
I'm signing off now – over to Andrew Sparrow.
11.46am: Hi, it's Andrew Sparrow here, taking over from Haroon.
And I'm here just in time for some key developments. According to Sky, ITV and the BBC, Theresa May will be home secretary. And Kenneth Clarke will be justice secretary.
12.01pm: Theresa May for home secretary. Some instant thoughts?
This seems like an attempt to solve the "woman problem". Over the last 12 hours there has been some criticism about the shortage of women at the top of the coalition. Now Cameron seems to have appointed a woman to one of the so-called great offices of state.
But is it tokenism? May has never shadowed the home affairs brief (although she's done virtually everything else) and her appointment is a surprise one that seems – at least in part – motivated by a desire to give a senior job to a woman. The same was said when Jacqui Smith was made home secretary. That appointment didn't work out too well.
Is she a libertarian or an authoritarian? More of an authoritarian, I think, but I'm afraid I don't really know.
What's happening to Michael Gove? This morning there was speculation that he would get the Home Office. That was based on the assumption (unconfirmed) that David Laws was going to education. Perhaps Gove is going to get education after all.
12.05pm: And what about Clarke going to justice?
He is a QC. And he will be happy to tear up ID cards etc.
Cameron has put a "big hitter" in charge of constitutional reform. Clarke is committed to an elected House of Lords. But he will also be in charge of the legislation for a referendum on the alternative vote. Cameron could have given this job to a Liberal Democrat who actually believes in AV. He didn't.
There's a vacancy at business. Perhaps that's where Vincent Cable is heading.
12.09pm: On Twitter my colleague Tom Clark is taking a sceptical view of the new government's achievements.
#ukge2010 13 hours into a Tory Govt and unemployment at a 15 year high!
12.12pm: My colleague Jill Treanor says the buzz in the City is that David Laws will got to the Treasury as chief secretary, and that Vincent Cable will become business secretary.
That means the education post will be free for Michael Gove.
12.18pm: On the BBC, Laura Kuenssberg points out that having Ken Clarke as justice secretary probably means the Human Rights Act is safe. In their manifesto the Tories said they wanted to get rid of it, but Clarke wanted it to stay.
12.22pm: Over in the Labour camp, Yvette Cooper has ruled herself out as a leadership candidate. (Admittedly, that's not much of a surprise. It looks as if Ed Miliband will be standing against his brother, David, which would be strange. Yvette Cooper standing against her husband, Ed Balls, would be totally surreal.)
12.34pm: As well as forming a government, David Cameron has spent some time this morning on the phone. According to Downing Street, Cameron had a conversation with the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh. The call was "very warm and friendly", Downing Street said. "Both reinforced the strong bilateral relationship between India and the United Kingdom and looked forward to strengthening it further."
Cameron also had a conversation with the leader of another great nation that used to be ruled exclusively by London. He told Alex Salmond that he was committed to devolution and that he wanted to come to Scotland soon. Downing Street said that Cameron initiated the conversation.
12.43pm: My colleague Jill Treanor has written a story explaning how the news that Vincent Cable might be in charge of the banks is not going down well in the City.
David Buik, City commentator at BGC Partners, warned that few bankers would support the breakup of their businesses into smaller retail and investment-banking divisions.
"Lovely bloke he may be, but the thought of Vince Cable, as Treasury secretary, bringing influence to bear over the banking system and its constitution fills me with horror. This is nightmare material and I must head to the chemist for some barbiturates! I never voted for this and nor did millions of others," said Buik.
But the pound rallied this morning and investors rushed to buy UK government debt in response to the creation of the Tory/Lib Dem coalition, Julia Kollewe reports.
12.51pm: The BBC is saying that Iain Duncan Smith will be work and pensions secretary. Duncan Smith was a welfare spokesman for the party before he became leader and, as head of the Centre for Social Justice, he has taken a close interest in the workings of the welfare system. The Tory right will be pleased to see him in the post, largely because he has a strong ideological commitment to promoting marriage. But this will also worry liberals in the coalition.
12.52pm: Dominic Grieve, the Tory justice spokesman, will be attorney general, Sky and the BBC are reporting. Grieve is a lawyers' lawyer - and a libertarian. It's an appropriate appointment.
1.02pm: Benedict Brogan at the Telegraph is celebrating; he's delighted that we've now got a prime minister who isn't interested in football.
There are some positives worth highlighting already, apart from the sunshine. My favourite is the installation of a prime minister who has no particular interest in football. New Labour did many things to our politics but one of the worst was to elevate football and its most tiresome aspects into a quasi religion. Was anything more depressing than Alastair Campbell enrolling Sir Alex Ferguson as an occasional adviser and cheerleader? David Cameron says he is an Aston Villa fan, but has never displayed that teenager's obsession for the game that fed the tabloidisation of Labour.
1.41pm: Here's a lunchtime summary
David Cameron and Nick Clegg have started forming a cabinet. Here are the appointments we've had confirmed so far: George Osborne, chancellor; William Hague, foreign secretary; Vincent Cable, business secretary; Liam Fox, defence secretary; Ken Clarke, justice secretary; David Laws, chief secretary to the Treasury; Michael Gove, education secretary; Andrew Lansley, health secretary; and Danny Alexander, Scottish secretary. There are some other appointments that are being reported but that have not yet been officially confirmed. They include: Theresa May, home secretary; Chris Huhne, climate change secretary; Iain Duncan Smith, work and pensions secretary; and Dominic Grieve, attorney general.
Cameron and Clegg are planning to hold a joint press conference at 2.15pm. They will use this to explain in more detail how they coalition will work. The government is also expected to publish details of the coalition agreement negotiated between the Tories and the Liberal Democrats.
A National Security Council has been set up. Cameron will chair its first meeting this afternoon. Sir Peter Ricketts, the top civil servant at the Foreign Office, will take charge of it in his new role as national security adviser. Permanent members of the NSC will include Clegg, Osborne, and Hague.
Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, said he was "very pleased" by the new government's plans to deal with the deficit. He said the UK's deficit problem would take a full parliament to fix. But he believed the Tory/Lib Dem blueprint provided a "clear and binding commitment" to tackling the issue.
Cameron has been speaking to fellow world leaders. He has had conversations with the French president and with the prime minsters of China, Australia and India. The Australian prime minister, Kevin Rudd, told Cameron to take a "moment of quiet time to enjoy it all because in about an hour's time it all starts". Cameron also spoke to the Scottish first minster, Alex Salmond, telling him that he was committed to devolution.
Labour's leadership contest has started. David Miliband is due to announce his candidature this afternoon. He has already received a glowing endorsement from Alan Johnson who said he would not stand himself. Johnson said Miliband was the party's "greatest talent". Yvette Cooper has ruled herself out as a candidate. And Peter Hain ruled out standing too.
The Lib Dems have confirmed that they will fight the Tories in the Thirsk and Malton byelection, even though there's a coalition between the parties at Westminster. The Tories are expected to win the byelection, which is taking place because a candidate died during the general election campaign.
1.48pm: Theresa May is expected to become home secretary and minister for equalities. What's her record on equality? PinkNews has been taking a look and it says she has been "consistently against gay and transgendered rights".
In 1998 she voted against equalising the age of consent and in 2000, she voted against the repeal of Section 28, legislation that banned the "promotion" of homosexuality by local government and schools.
In 2001 and 2002 she voted against gay couples jointly adopting children.
In 2004, like much of the Conservative frontbench, Mrs May did vote in favour of civil partnerships.
But in the same year, Mrs May didn't attend parliament for any of the four votes that led to the Gender Recognition Act.
2.12pm: I've just got the coalition agreement reached between the Tories and the Lib Dems. It runs to seven pages. I'll post a link as soon as I find it on a website. I'll take a look at it before the Downing Street press conference starts.
Cameron and Clegg are holding their news conference in the Rose Garden.
I'll take a proper look at the document later. Both parties were briefing on it last night, but the we have not seen the full text until now. Essentially, it's the manifesto for the coalition, the agenda for the next five years.
Here are a few items that stand out:
The £6bn cuts planned for this year will be "subject to advice from the Treasury and the Bank of England on their feasibility".
There will be "robust action to tackle unacceptable bonuses in the financial services sector".
There will be legislation for fixed-term parliaments. But the bill will say that parliament can be dissolved before the five-year deadline is up if 55% of the Commons votes in favour.
The proposals from the Wright committee for the reform of Commons procedure will be implemented in full.
There will be a commission to consider the West Lothian question.
There will be a review of the date at which the state pension age should rise to 66. It will be no sooner than 2016 for men and 2020 for women.
The Lib Dems will be allowed to abstain on any vote implementing the recommendations of the Browne report on higher education funding (ie, higher tuition fees) if they disagree with them.
2.21pm: Cameron and Clegg are walking to the two lecterns to speak.
2.22pm: The prime minister and deputy prime minister are speaking now. They are standing at separate podiums in the garden. (Cameron is marginally taller than Clegg.)
2.24pm: Cameron says the administration will have one key purpose: giving the UK proper leadership.
Over the coming weeks the two parties will say more about how they intend to work together.
2.25pm: Cameron says Nick Clegg will be at his side when he chairs the new national security council. There will be five Lib Dem secretaries of state in the cabinet. And Lib Dems will be represented at every level of government.
Cameron says "no government in modern times has ever been left with such a terrible economic inheritance".
2.27pm: But the two parties can take Britain through the difficult times.
We are not just announcing a new government with new ministers; we are announcing a new politics.
Cameron says there was too much chronic short-termism under Labour. He wants to adopt a new, more grown-up approach.
2.28pm: The "Liberal Conservative" government will take Britain in a new direction.
(Is that the official description? Cameron did not put Conservative first.)
2.31pm: Clegg is speaking. He says the fact that he is alongside Cameron says a great deal about the new politics.
Britain needed "a strong and stable government".
This is a government that will last ... Not because it will be easy. There will be bumps and scrapes along the way ... This is a government that will last because we are united by a common purpose.
Clegg says the government wants to hand power to communities, and to let people live the life they want to live.
He says you can call it fairness or you can call it responsibility. (This is interesting, because he is implying that equality and decentralisation are the same thing. That's an audacious claim.)
2.34pm: Questions now. Cameron says the press conference will be quite short, because they are still forming a government.
Q: Are you doing this because you have to? Or do you really believe in coalition?
Cameron says he and Clegg thought a "confidence and supply" agreement would be "so uninspiring". He and Clegg wanted to give the country good government. They decided to "aim for something bigger and better".
Clegg says he agrees. The voters said they did not want a majority government. But they wanted stability.
(Clegg calls Cameron "David".) A good government has to be underpinned by a common purpose.
2.35pm: Q: Does Britain now have permanent joint leadership?
Cameron said he woke up this morning thinking: "This is so much better than the alternative."
He says he will do things with Clegg. "This is not just two teams trying to do things together. This is two teams trying to form [one strong government]."
He mentions the upcoming Thirsk byelection, and jokes about travelling there with Clegg in the same car.
"We could get out on opposite sides," jokes Clegg.
2.38pm: Q: PMQs, press conferences and term limits?
Cameron says Clegg will stand in for him at PMQs.
They have not decided what to do about press conferences yet.
Cameron says he is encouraged by the way the negotiating teams worked together.
There will be a full coalition agreement later. The one issued today deals with the difficult areas.
Clegg says he and Cameron are proceeding with "an open mind".
On PMQs, Cameron jokes about looking forward to a lot of foreign travel (implying he will leave Clegg to deal with the difficult questions).
2.41pm: Q: What will Clegg's role be?
Cameron says Clegg will have the deputy prime minister's office in the Cabinet Office. Clegg will be in charge of political reform.
Q: It's a charming love-in, but it won't hold together, will it?
Cameron says: "This will succeed through its success."
Politics is all about public service in the national interest.
Clegg says: "There are always going to be sceptics and there will always be a thousand and one reasons why you don't try anything new."
But his party wanted to take the risk, Clegg says. The Lib Dems thought this was the right thing to do.
2.43pm: Q: Does Cameron regret saying his favourite joke was "Nick Clegg"?
Clegg appears not to have heard this before. He says, "I'm off ... "
Cameron jokes: "Come back." There is much laughter from the press. He says he is prepared to eat humble pie and swallow some of his words. He cannot think of a better diet to give Britain good government.
Q: What will you do on Europe?
Cameron says he spoke to Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, yesterday. Merkel had some advice for him on coalition politics.
He says the two parties have set out their differences on Europe.
2.49pm: Q: Are the Lib Dems still committed to abolishing the Department for Business?
Clegg says the party has changed its stance since it said it wanted to get rid of the DTI (as it was then).
Q: What are your objections to PR, Cameron is asked.
Cameron says he felt it was right to make an "important concession" on electoral reform.
Q: Will there be an early legislation on a five-year parliament? Will you tolerate dissent? And will the two parties fight against each other?
Cameron says the two parties will still fight against each other.
The legislation on fixed-term parliaments will come soon.
Clegg says in other political cultures it would not be odd to suggest that parties cooperate, but also campaign against each other. He hopes people will find it "relatively unsurprising relatively quickly".
Cameron says the press conference is over. "I'm afraid I've got to go and appoint the rest of this cabinet and the rest of this government."
2.50pm: Here are some responses from Twitter to the double-act:
@jameskirkup
Oh god. The country is now being run by two characters from a Richard Curtis film.
@CharlieBeckett
Christ - they are turning into Morecombe and Wise. Or is it Ant and Dec. Or Alias Smith and Jones?
@j_freedland
What is it that this double act reminds me of? Fry and Laurie? Jeeves and Wooster?
3.14pm: This is the full text of the Lib Dem-Tory deal.
3.19pm: The press conference is over. Here are some initial thoughts.
Cameron and Clegg look like partners. It's normally more important to focus on what gets said at a press conference, rather than on what you see, but I think today it was appearances mattered most. On the plus side, Cameron and Clegg looked liked two men who can get on and who feel comfortable with each other (although perhaps Clegg was a tad irritated by Cameron's determination to hog the limelight). On the minus side, they looked too similar. They both had a privileged upbringing, an elite education, and they both entered politics working for Conservative politicians. They are both 43 – and were born within three months of each other. We knew all that. But seeing them together really brought it home.
Clegg will have a proper job to do as deputy prime minister. Cameron said that Clegg would be responsible for political reform and that Clegg would have an office in the Cabinet Office. Clegg will have constant access to Cameron at No 10. He will also deputise for him at PMQs. But it has not been decided yet whether they will host joint press conferences regularly.
The Tories and the Lib Dems will work out the details of their coalition later. Today they published a seven-page document headed: "Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition negotiations – agreements reached." Cameron said this dealt with the difficult issues between the two parties. But he also said it would be followed by the publication of a more detailed document explaining exactly how the coalition will work.
Cameron and Clegg insisted they wanted to use the coalition to change the nature of British politics. They both insisted that the arrangement was more than a marriage of convenience. Cameron said that they had considered a less formal "confidence and supply" deal but that they had decided instead to "aim for something bigger". They wanted to show that political rivals could come together for the common good.
The Tories and the Liberal Democrats will still campaign against each other at byelections. Clegg said this that in countries used to coalitions voters would not be surprised by parties working together in government but campaigning against each other at election time. He indicated that he wanted to change British political culture so that his became "unsurprising".
Cameron said that he would have to "eat his words" in relation to some of the things he has said about Clegg in the past. He said this when someone asked him how he felt about having called Clegg "a joke". Clegg gave the impression that he was willing to overlook this.
3.26pm: You can watch the Cameron-Clegg press conference here.
3.27pm: According to the BBC, Eric Pickles will be the new communities secretary.
3.37pm: I'm going to go through the coalition agreement section by section. I won't summarise all the points, because you can read the whole thing for yourself here, but I'll just note the points I find interesting.
On deficit reduction, the document says both parties are still committed to cuts worth £6bn this year. But it introduces some "wriggle room" that could be used to justify amending this target. It says the £6m figure is "subject to advice from the Treasury and the Bank of England" on the feasibility and advisability of the cuts.
3.51pm: On spending, the Tory-Lib Dem document says that from April 2011 the state pension will always rise by at least 2.5%. That's because the Tories have accepted the Lib Dem plan to ensure that from April 2011 pensions either rise in line with either earnings or prices or by 2.5%, depending on which is higher.
The most interesting passage came when Clegg said the coalition would last because the Tories and the Lib Dems had the same values.
This is a government that will last because despite those differences, we are united by a common purpose for the job we want to do in the next five years.
Our ambition is simple and yet profound. Our ambition is to put real power and opportunity into the hands of people, families, and communities to change their lives and our country for the better.
For me, that is what liberalism is all about: ensuring that everyone has the chance, no matter who they are and where they are from, to be the person they want to be. To live the life they want to live.
You can call it fairness. You can call it responsibility. You can call it liberalism. Whatever words you use the change it will make to your life is the same.
At this point it sounded as if Clegg was trying to drive a steamroller over the ideological differences between conservatism and liberalism: "You can call it fairness. You can call it responsibility. You can call it liberalism." But some might just call it wishful thinking.
4.12pm: Harriet Harman told the parliamentary Labour party this afternoon that Labour had to be "gracious" in defeat. David Miliband is due to launch his leadership bid later, but first he had to attend a meeting of the shadow cabinet. Apparently he had forgotten where the shadow cabinet room was.
Paul Waugh had to show him (see above).
4.19pm: Back to the Tory/Lib Dem coalition plan. On tax, the key proposal is a "substantial increase in the personal allowance from April 2011, with the benefits focused on those with lower and middle incomes". Part of the cost of this will come from a big increase in non-business capital gains tax.
4.28pm: Sarah Brown has posted her first message on Twitter since she left Downing Street yeterday.
4.30pm: On immigration, the Tory/Lib Dem document shows that the Lib Dems have accepted the Tory plan for an annual limit on non-EU migrants.
4.33pm: The CBI's director general, Richard Lambert, has welcomed the Tory/Lib Dem document.
This is a credible document which shows that the coalition government is committed to tackling the major issues. We particularly welcome the significant acceleration in the reduction of the structural deficit and the plan to achieve it through reduced spending rather than increases in taxation. This will provide comfort for international investors and underpin growth at a critical time.
4.51pm: Nick Clegg is going to be in charge of political reform, and the Tory/Lib Dem document makes it clear that the new government has bold plans in this area. As well as fixed-term parliaments, a referendum on AV and giving voters the power of recall, it wants plans for a wholly or mainly elected Lords to be ready by December 2010.
There is also a strong commitment to local government reform.
The parties will promote the radical devolution of power and greater financial autonomy to local government and community groups. This will include a full review of local government finance.
Ever since the poll tax, governments have been terrified of tinkering with local government finance, or making it easier for councils to raise taxes. In their manifesto, the Tories said they wanted to allow residents to stop councils raising taxes (by making it possible for them to make council tax increases subject to a referendum). This will probably be an area for dispute in the future.
5.06pm: Random House has confirmed that it is publishing the next instalment of Alastair Campbell's diaries on 3 June. It covers May 1994 to May 1997. In his original diaires he covered the period in 180 pages. He is now going to give us the full version, running to 744 pages. Some 75% of the material is unpublished (but 25% of it we will have read already). The new material will include passages that were left out for lack of space - and of course all the embarrassing stuff that Campbell left out in 2007 because it could have damaged Gordon Brown.
In a press release from Random House today, Campbell said:
I am pleased that I published The Blair Years when I did, because it was part of the debate about Tony Blair's legacy. Both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are aware that I am now publishing the full diaries, which I believe record in a way that no other document could, the ins and outs, ups and downs, the progress and the setbacks of an extraordinary period in UK political history.
Yesterday was a sad day for me, in that 13 years of Labour government came to an end. It was also a reminder, despite difficulties along the way, of how much has been achieved and how much Britain has changed. Working with Gordon on his recent election campaign, and in the past few days as he has sought to steer Britain through the complex constitutional issues thrown up by the result, I have also been reminded once more that the New Labour team is a collection of very remarkable individuals.
It was particularly poignant for me that when Tony Blair telephoned Gordon Brown just before he announced his resignation, the two other people in the room were Peter Mandelson and myself. We were all there at the beginning, and all there as Labour's period in office ended. A lot went right, and some things went wrong, along the way. But the New Labour story is one I am proud of, and privileged to have witnessed and participated in. Prelude to Power is the first volume of that story in full.
5.20pm: Here's an afternoon summary.
David Cameron has continued to appoint new ministers to his government. Downing Street has not published a full list, but according to reliable reports the new appointments include: Jeremy Hunt, culture secretary; Philip Hammond, transport secretary; Andrew Mitchell, international development secretary; Francis Maude, Cabinet Office minister; Eric Pickles, communities secretary; Caroline Spelman, environment secretary; and Lady Warsi, Conservative party chairman.
David Cameron and Nick Clegg have promised that the coalition will introduce "a new politics". At a joint press conference in the Downing Street garden, Cameron said: "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 cooperation wins out over confrontation." At the press conference the two men appeared to have a good relationship. But some found the clean-cut cheeriness too much. "The country is now being run by two characters from a Richard Curtis film," James Kirkup said on Twitter.
Harriet Harman said Labour would be "powerful" in opposition. Addressing the first meeting of the parliamentary Labour party since the election, the party's new acting leader said: "For now we are in opposition. We will be gracious about this, we will be a responsible opposition and we will be an effective opposition. Though we are in opposition, we will be a powerful opposition."
I'm heading home now. My colleague Hélène Mulholland will be taking over for the next few hours.
5.33pm: Hi it's Hélène Mulholland here, taking over just as David Miliband stepped outside the Commons at St Stephen's Green to declare himself a candidate in the Labour leadership contest.
The former foreign secretary began his brief address by paying to tribute to Gordon Brown, who he said helped to "save the Labour party" in the 1980s and the 1990s.
I'm standing for the leadership because I believe I can lead Labour to rebuild itself as the great reforming champion of social and economic change in this country. We have achieved a great deal in government, but this is a new era: new dangers, new opportunities, new possibilities. No longer the party in government, we must be the party of real change right throughout the country. Deep renewal of our party, deep roots in our country, real engagement with its people.
He said he dearly hoped it would be a genuine contest with many candidates. He intends to formally launch his campaign in his constituency in South Shields early next week and intends to start visiting constituencies around the country – mostly where the party lost – to talk and to listen not just to party members but also people didn't vote for Labour, "to understand why".
5.40pm: Miliband also made some comments about the coalition government unveiled today. He said:
The decision of the Liberal Democrats to join a Conservative government is a momentous moment in British politics. It places an enormous responsibility on the Labour party to be the great unifying force for all shades of centre and centre left opinion in this country. That is the task ahead of us.
Miliband is the clear favourite to succeed Brown, but his comments about a "genuine contest" suggest he is keen to be seen to win it on merit. Other candidates expected to declare include the two Eds – Ed Miliband, who has not denied reports that he may stand against his older brother, and Ed Balls. Jon Cruddas is tipped to stand as candidate from the left of the party. Alistair Darling, Alan Johnson and Harriet Harman have in the past signalled that they don't want the job.
6.15pm: Sky News has been running snippets from the televised leaders' debate which showed Cameron and Clegg pitted against each other. It offers what I imagine is the unprecedented situation of having a public display of vehement disagreements between two senior members of the same team, simply because they were bitter opponents at the time. Cameron has already had to eat humble pie earlier (see 2.43pm) about an old comment in which he said his favourite joke was "Nick Clegg?".
Clegg, meanwhile, had described the Tories' colleagues in Europe as "a bunch of nutters, antisemites, people who deny climate change exists, homophobes" during one of the debates - something that has been seized upon by Edward McMillan-Scott, a former Tory MEP, in light of the coalition deal.
McMillan-Scott, who joined the Lib Dems earlier this year after being expelled in a row over Cameron's EU strategy, is in the unenviable position of having the party he joined now linked to the party he left.
Cameron pulled his Tory MEPs out of the integrationist European People's Party grouping (EPP) in the European parliament to reinforce his eurosceptic credentials as Conservative leader, in favour of new makeshift group with far-right, anti-EU MEPs from Poland, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Hungary and Belgium.
The Press Association reports McMillan-Scott urging Cameron to pull out of the grouping in light of the coalition agreement which commits the new government to be "a positive participant in the European Union, playing a strong and positive role with our partners" and vows to "strongly defend the UK's national interests in the forthcoming EU budget negotiations".
McMillan-Scott said:
The bald truth is staring David Cameron in the face - the new alliance in the European parliament has been a failure politically and has damaged his reputation at home. Now in government in the national interest, he must re-examine his European links because at present he is divorced from both the majority EPP group in the European parliament, and the other influential group - the Liberals - which in the European parliament wins 88% of the votes.
On the "nutter" jibe, I must stress that Clegg, who has been a vocal proponent of improved mental health services in the past, swiftly said he was sorry for using the "derogatory" term.
6.34pm:
Theresa May, the new home secretary, has just been on Sky News. As well as the home office brief, May is also expected to juggle the role of minister for women and equalities.
Her past voting record on equalities isn't great, as Sky's John Craig reminded her: she was against reducing the age of consent for homosexuals, was absent for the vote on civil partnerships, and was also against gay adoption. Looking uncomfortable, she said it was absolutely right to say that she was absent for some of those key votes on equality issues. But May pointed us to the Tories' equality manifesto, which she had responsibility for. "I think what is important is the policies we are taking forward. Key policies, such as powers for teachers to tackle homophobic bullying in schools. A real issue that often people don't want to talk about and find difficult in identifying."
Pressed on being a social conservative, she said the party had changed significantly in the eight years since she warned the Tories in her role as chairwoman that the party was seen as the "nasty party". At the time, she accused some of her colleagues of trying to "make political capital out of demonising minorities".
May stressed the issues the party is addressing have changed, namely the equality agenda. Also, she added, the fact that the group of 306 Tory MPs includes 48 women, up from 18 in the last parliament. The party now has eleven black and ethnic minority candidates too. "The conservative party of yesterday is different from the Conservative party of today," she said.
6.54pm: The full cabinet is 23 strong, with six further ministers attending. We'll provide the link to the full list from Downing Street in a bit so you can browse and familiarise yourselves with your new government.
7.05pm: Cherchez les femmes. This new politics doesn't seem to have much room for women. There are just three cabinet ministers: Theresa May, as home secretary AND minister for women and equalities, Caroline Spelman, as environment secretary, and Cheryl Gillan, as Welsh secretary.
Baroness Warsi, the new Conservative party chairwoman, is minister without portfolio in an unpaid capacity.
Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton and Pavilion, and the only female party leader, says this is "hugely disappointing".
"There was a lot of talk in the campaign about making parliament more representative and to make sure policy makers reflect the wider population. David Cameron and Nick CLegg have not delivered on that." Indeed.
7.12pm: Feast your eyes on the new cabinet.
7.15pm:
Danny Alexander, the Liberal Democrat secretary of state for Scotland, is doing the rounds of current affairs programmes. Earlier he was on Sky talking about the coalition deal.
The MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathpsey, who was part of the Lib Dem negotiating team brokering the agreement with the Conservatives in his role as chief of staff, has reiterated the phrase "common purpose" that I heard David Cameron utter earlier at the outdoors press conference.
"It's about a new way of doing politics altogether. People working together from different parties for a common purpose in government, and I think that's what's so exciting about what we have done," he told Sky.
Now he is on Channel 4 News talking to Jon Snow. Alexander, who tells us is going to be 38 on Saturday, is asked how it feels to be in bed with the Tories. Snow goads the Scot about being the new big Tory "north of the border", a lib dem in Tory clothing. People will have to get used to the fact that it's a new politics, says Alexander. Still the radical man he was last week? He says he's always been in favour of politicians working together, and he's confident the beautiful new relationship is going to last the full five years.
7.21pm: Alexander was also asked about the deficit reduction. The lib dems have signed up to the Tory plans for getting started via the £6b in-year cuts in non frontine services. Alexander stressed the give and take nature of the deal struck to ensure coalition could take place.
"What we have said is that there will be £6b in-year cuts based on the advice of the Treasury and the Bank of England. A proportion of those will be used on the sorts of jobs creation schemes that we proposed in the election. We will go further and faster than the previous government was planning in subsquent years. But we will also deliver the programme of increases in the income tax personal allowance for example, which was a central part of our campaign."
One question. Is a cut really a cut if it's being used on something else, such as the jobs creation scheme?
7.33pm: Talking about women in the new cabinet (see 7.05pm), how quickly we forget. My colleague Claire Phipps has just sent me a link
to remind me that just two years ago, Cameron pledged to give a third of jobs in his first government to women. He set a target then of getting 55 female Tory MPs elected, and achieved 48. Cameron said he wanted to ensure female politicians were not mere 'window dressing' but could influence decisions affecting women's lives. But only four of them made it to the 23-strong cabinet, and one of them is unelected (Warsi, the minister without portfolio and Tory party chair, is a peer). While there are many more ministerial posts to be handed out, he has failed to deliver at the top table.
7.51pm: Here's an interesting contribution on today's political marriage. Author and psychotherapist Susie Orbach says we're all going to have to adjust to coalition government after a long tradition of adversarial politics. The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats are going to have to somehow articulate their differences while working together, rather than pretend there are no differences, she says.
I'm sure I'm not the only one genuinely interested to see how this very modern relationship is going to stay healthy. Parties are in themselves a coalition of different wings which leads to clashes and sometimes bitter warfare, as we all know. It will be interesting to see how the dynamics of this particular set up play out. Orbach mentioned the need to be grown up. It all felt very grown up today, as our new prime minister, David Cameron, and his deputy, Nick Clegg, shared a platform to outline a common purpose between the two parties.
i'm wrapping up for the evening. The key points of today:
David Cameron has appointed a 23-strong cabinet. They include Theresa May, home secretary; Jeremy Hunt, culture secretary; Philip Hammond, transport secretary; Andrew Mitchell, international development secretary; Francis Maude, Cabinet Office minister; Eric Pickles, communities secretary; Caroline Spelman, environment secretary; and Lady Warsi, Conservative party chairwoman and minister without portfolio. (See 7.12pm for the full list)
David Cameron and Nick Clegg have promised that the coalition will introduce "a new politics". At a joint press conference in the Downing Street garden, Cameron said: "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 cooperation wins out over confrontation." At the press conference the two men appeared to have a good relationship. But some found the clean-cut cheeriness too much. "The country is now being run by two characters from a Richard Curtis film," James Kirkup said on Twitter.
David Miliband has declared his candidacy for the Labour leadership election (see 5.33pm)He said: "No longer the party in government, we must be the party of real change right throughout the country. Deep renewal of our party, deep roots in our country, real engagement with its people."
Harriet Harman said Labour would be "powerful" in opposition. Addressing the first meeting of the parliamentary Labour party since the election, the party's new acting leader said: "For now we are in opposition. We will be gracious about this, we will be a responsible opposition and we will be an effective opposition. Though we are in opposition, we will be a powerful opposition."
Good night.
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