''Coalition'' is a 2015 British

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

about the formation of a

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

following the 2010 general election. It was broadcast on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

on 28 March 2015, shortly before that year's general election. The film was written by James Graham and starred

Bertie Carvel Robert Hugh Carvel (born 6 September 1977) is a British film and theatre actor. He has twice won a Laurence Olivier Award: for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role as Miss Trunchbull in '' Matilda the Musical'', and for Best ...

Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...

Ian Grieve Ian Grieve is a Scottish actor. He is most famous for his playing the role of the Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He played Brown in “The Confessions of Gordon Brown”, which was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, at Trafalgar Studios in ...

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

, and

Mark Dexter Mark Lee Dexter (born 21 April 1973) is an English actor who trained at RADA. Life and career Dexter was born in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. As a teenager, he was an early member of the Central Junior Television Workshop which led ...

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

. Graham wrote the film in the aim of giving humanity and enabling empathy to all of the figures portrayed within it, which earned it positive reviews from critics.

Plot

is popular with the electorate ahead of the 2010 general election, with his

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

party promising

electoral reform Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems that alters how public desires, usually expressed by cast votes, produce election results. Description Reforms can include changes to: * Voting systems, such as adoption of proportional represen ...

and an end to the dominance of the two main parties, Labour and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

, who had led every

British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

since

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

. The election results in the first

hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system (typically employing Majoritarian representation, majoritarian electoral systems) to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing ...

since

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, with no party having a majority of seats. The Conservatives are the largest party, then Labour, and followed by the Liberal Democrats in third place. Nick is disappointed that his popularity did not reflect in the results, but is consoled by his party's former leader,

Paddy Ashdown Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon (27 February 194122 December 2018), better known as Paddy Ashdown, was a British politician and diplomat who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988 to 1999. Internation ...

. As the party with the most seats, the Conservatives led by

are given the first choice to form a government, which will either be a minority government or a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. Conservative peers are vehemently opposed to working with the Liberal Democrats due to what they see to be contrasting policies, but

Shadow Chancellor The shadow chancellor of the exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the chancellor of the exchequer. The title is given at the gift of the leader of the Opposition an ...

George Osborne George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born 23 May 1971) is a British retired politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the Cameron government. A ...

tells David that if they ally with them, it would put the Tories into a centrist position and potentially make them more electable for the next general election. Meanwhile, Labour, led by incumbent

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, prepare for negotiations with the Liberal Democrats. Gordon points out to Nick that both parties are left-wing and progressive, but Nick is held back by the personal unpopularity of Brown amongst the British public. Liberal Democrat MPs meet with their Conservative counterparts to negotiate a possible government, discussing the possibility of a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

on electoral reform. Conservative peers are furious with Cameron on this proposal, stating that reform would end any future possibility of a Conservative majority government. However, he convinces them by saying that a Labour—Liberal Democrat coalition would pass electoral reform without a referendum, as both parties support it. In another meeting, Gordon tries to win over Nick by promising to resign during their first term in government, but Nick wants it sooner. Gordon resigns for the good of his party and to leave in a dignified way, strategically forcing

into becoming Prime Minister in a minority government. Nick is adamant to form a coalition as he sees Labour as unpopular after thirteen years in government. His MPs are angry with the possibility of a coalition with the Conservatives, due to the opposition between the two parties. However,

makes a speech saying that this is the best opportunity for the party to enter government and execute their policies. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats form a coalition.

Cast

Production

The film was written by James Graham, who also scripted ''This House'', a National Theatre play about the government of

James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the L ...

from 1976 to 1979. Graham chose to dramatise the formation of the government in 2010 because "The personalities, clashes, the farcical nature of some of it, the loss of dignity – it was characterful and weird. The lack of sleep, the pressure, and exhaustion make it exciting ... It's really important to me to try and humanise them". He stated that the message of the film was not to change political opinions, but to encourage empathy towards politicians because "There's this presumption that they're all corrupt and incompetent – but I'd love people to empathise with the incredible situation". The film was sponsored by Japanese car manufacturer

Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota, Toyota Motor Corporation. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked amon ...

Reception

Kasia Delgado of ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' praised the film for managing "to make the most powerful men in the country seem both ridiculous, and entirely human", calling it "like ''

The Thick of It ''The Thick of It'' is a British comedy television series created, written and directed by Armando Iannucci that satirises the inner workings of British government. It was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially ...

'' on

valium Diazepam, sold under the brand name Valium among others, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. It is used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, muscle spas ...

". In the ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'', Anoosh Chakelian wrote that it "starts off as satire and ends as an opera. It is the young playwright's eye for detail and evident reams of source material that allow for such an astute commentary, and human portrayal", while also being "masterfully unbiased; the one clear lesson to the audience is that our politicians are humans". She singled out the best performance to be Gatiss as Mandelson, as the "darkly frivolous" performance "has the macabre silliness spot on".

Lucy Mangan Lucy Mangan (born 1974) is a British journalist and author. She is a columnist, features writer and TV critic for ''The Guardian'' and an opinion writer for '' i'' news. Early life and education Mangan was born in 1974 and grew up in Catford, ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' stated that her opinion of the film was prejudiced by opinions on the politicians portrayed within it, but wrote that it gave a new image to them when "bloodless freaks began to swell with life and humanity". When commenting on the actors, '' GQ'' writer Ian McGurk praised the range of the portrayal of Brown by Grieve but reserved highest praise for

as Cameron, citing Dexter's striking physical similarity to the real Cameron and adding that "He also gives the best performance".

References

External links

''Coalition''
on