Judith Proctor's Journal

Having read the text of the agreement between the parties, I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised.

There's a lot there that I wanted.

Picking a handful:

Reducing the deficit

Protecting the NHS budget

Increased personal tax allowance

Duty per plane rather than per passenger (penalises planes that fly half-full and private jets)

Tackling tax avoidance

House of Lords to have elected members using PR and long terms of office

Agreement to limit donations and reform party funding to remove big money from politics

Register of lobbyists

An end to the compulsory retirement age

Reform of libel laws to protect freedom of speech

promote energy production from anerobic digestion

Home energy improvements

Emissions limits on coal power stations

No third runway at Heathrow (or any extra runways elsewhere)

Floor price for CO2

Wildlife corridors

a specific commitment to reduce central government carbon emissions by 10 per cent within 12 months.

Yes, there's some stuff that I'm not so keen on and some stuff that I'm neutral about, but overall, I'm pleased.

I wish the coalition success in their aims and hope they can pull it off.