It's been, in many ways, a good week. For those of us who believe that giving people more freedom is a good thing, proposals to remove the mandatory retirement age and abolish the age limit for purchasing annuities are to be applauded. Yes, people should have the right to retire at a fixed age but there are many who would like to work on as long as they are enjoying it. And as for having to buy an annuity on your seventy-fifth birthday, it seems nonsensical that you cannot be trusted to calculate for yourself when you would like the money that is, after all, yours.
The pupil premium is an entirely Liberal Democrat idea, and will make a real difference to the education of those with genuine issues requiring particular attention. And even David Cameron's somewhat entertaining attempts at diplomacy pick out some interesting new messages - a welcome to Turkey, a blunt warning to those in Pakistan who wish to play both sides off against each other, a rebuke to Israel over Gaza - which Liberal Democrats might not be particularly uncomfortable about.
There are some elements that I'm not wild about, however. The proposals to allow voters to veto council tax rises are populist and ill-informed (should I be surprised that Eric Pickles is so attached to the idea?), and I still have some residual doubts about elected police commissioners.
On balance though, I'm still comfortable about the direction of the Coalition. It isn't perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better than the prospects of having to do business with a bunch of authoritarian deficit deniers in the Labour Party...
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