ABSTRACT
The outcome of the election of May 2010 was a coalition government between the right-wing Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrat Party, which is right-wing on economics but more left-wing on social issues. A Coalition Agreement was established between the two ruling parties, setting out their programme of policies. The Coalition Government's main ideas on regional governance, presented in a Growth White Paper in October 2010, were intended to tackle regional economic differences. The Liberal Democrat Party Manifesto, in contrast, intended to circumscribe the role and budgets for Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) but only proposed their abolition where they had been seen to fail. Other Coalition policies impacted upon regions. The distinctiveness of the new Coalition Government's approach remained Localism, and a rejection of the central imposition of policy. The Department of Transport retained its Transport Intelligence function, which was also regionalised, operating from three offices in Birmingham, Leeds and London and covering different regions.
