SBS Dateline | Westminster Insiders

Is the new UK coalition government between the centre-right Conservatives and centre-left Liberal Democrats a marriage made in heaven or a marriage of convenience?

George Negus travels to London for a special Dateline debate with four Westminster Insiders, to get the lowdown on what’s been happening in British politics and whether they think it will succeed.

Jackie Ashley is a columnist and political reporter for the Guardian newspaper and has a long background of covering politics as a TV and print journalist.

Lord Matthew Oakeshott is a Liberal Democrat politician and currently Spokesperson for the Treasury, and Work and Pensions. He has been a pension fund investment manager for more than 30 years. He was made a life peer in 2000.

Clare Short served as an MP in Birmingham from 1983, but stood down at this election. For most of that time she was a Labour MP, but resigned from the party in 2006 over Tony Blair's handling of the Iraq War. She served the rest of her term as an Independent. She spent six years as Secretary of State for International Development in the Blair government.

Will Hutton is a former editor and ongoing columnist for The Observer newspaper. He is also Chief Executive of The Work Foundation, a consultancy advising on employment issues. He was recently appointed by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition government to head a review into public service pay. Will is a seasoned political commentator and a regular contributor to Dateline.

Click here to watch the debate.

Click here for more background on the UK’s changing politics and our who’s who photo gallery, plus watch George’s take on it all.