Nick Clegg and David Cameron walk to the Treasury to launch the government's full coalition deal this morning. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA
9.00am: Good morning. Just 10 days after David Cameron and Nick Clegg agreed to form a coalition government, they are about to unveil the full details of their historic deal.
The prime minister and his deputy will launch their full coalition agreement today following the publication last week of a smaller seven-page document. The Tories and Lib Dems said that last week's agreement, which covered the deficit and taxation, was designed to tackle the more difficult issues first. The full agreement published today includes the less contentious areas. Some areas agreed by both parties are likely to stoke opposition by trade unions, however, such as the controversial decision to privatise Royal Mail.
ConservativeHome noted some of the big coalition goals highlighted by George Osborne in his first big speech as chancellor. Osborne told the Confederation of British Industry the plans included a lower, simpler corporation tax, lifting the low-paid out of the income tax system, and "radical social policy".
The Tories are pleased that two main planks of their manifesto – welfare and schools reform – have survived largely intact. Private and voluntary groups will be given a greater role in placing the long-term unemployed back into work on a payment-by-results basis.
9.33am: The deal has been published on the Cabinet Office website. You can read it here. It has a comprehensive foreword signed off by Cameron and Clegg, and covers 31 policy areas.
9.37am: Clegg has opened the press conference. "You've never read a document like it," he says of the coalition deal, saying it is a document of "shared goals". The bringing together of two programmes has resulted in a stronger document, he says. "This is a programme for fundamental and comprehensive reform."
9.39am: Clegg says it's not just about ideas, but about action. "Detailed ideas for changes that will make your life better. From now on, we get down to work."
9.42am: He's outlining different areas of the document: for pensioners, struggling to make ends meet, your pension will rise in line with earnings from next April. For police, less time filling in forms. For parents, shared paternity leave. Also, more control over new homes built in your area. He lists a number of proposals that highlight the "practical changes" people will see in their everyday lives. "New politics is about delivering the change you want," he says. And on the area that he will lead on, he says, party funding will be cleared up, voting reform will be introduced, and government will be more transparent. He stresses that tackling the deficit is the first priority.
9.45am: Clegg says all parts of government now have the challenge of a lifetime to find savings to avoid our children being burdened by a huge debt. Clegg says that, at the next election, the parties will stand against each other but will have a joint platform of success to cite.
9.46am: Clegg also says that while money may be short, government ambition is not.
Surprisingly, it's not Cameron but home secretary Theresa May who comes next. She begins by talking about liberty and the need to fight for it. The balance of power over the past decade has shifted dramatically away from the individual to the state and this has been ineffective at best, sometimes undermining our fundamental rights, she says. We will be hardnosed defenders of our freedoms, she says, as she promises that the coalition government will protect Britain from all threats, from terrorism to crime on the streets.
9.48am: Next up is Vincent Cable, the business secretary. Cable returns to what Clegg said about the priority being tackling the deficit. The success of the government will not be simply measured on whether we deal with the deficit but how we deal with it, he says. The burdens have to be fairly shared and "we will not balance the books on the backs of the poorest", he says. Fairness will be at the heart of the economy. On taxes, there will be an increase in the personal allowance for income tax.
9.49am: Cable goes on to banking reforms. Banks that have been rescued by the government will be the servants, not the masters, of the economy. In education, every child will have a fair start in life to make sure they are not held back by the circumstances of their birth. Pupil premiums will allow disadvantaged children to benefit from the privileges enjoyed by privately educated children, such as smaller class sizes.
9.52am: The line up is Lib Dem, Tory, Lib Dem, Tory. So next up is George Osborne, the chancellor. He says today's problems can be traced back to a lack of responsibility in the past. He says policies will be tested by whether or not they encourage responsibility. He promises to bring responsibility to the public finances, starting with the £6bn in-year cuts. More of this on Monday, he says.
9.55am: Outlining welfare reforms, he says those who can work will, and those who can't will be looked after.
9.57am: Finally Cameron comes on stage, with a little jokey preamble about making his way around different departments (today the Treasury). He says he found himself in a situation he had not planned for, but is optimistic about the future. The more I see this coalition in action the more I see its potential, he says. Not only providing a strong stable government, but a radical one. Speaking of the coalition deal, he says the government has a full programme for a full parliamentary term. The document is significant. The coalition government has produced, in a short period of time, a radical agenda.
9.58am: This is because politicians on both sides put aside party interest for the national interest. He says the bringing together of two different programmes has brought about a stronger one. Issues on which they profoundly disagree have been put aside. I want to be frank about that now, he says, to those who voted for either party. The bad news is that some policies have been changed. But the "real news" is that all Conservatives have something they all believe in: strong and stable government.
10.00am: Cameron raises his "big society" concept, which bombed on the doorsteps at the election. The big society idea that those who can do, and those who can't will be supported, and the concept of responsibility are woven throughout the document, he says. The prime minister mentions welfare reforms, cutting crime through real reform of the criminal justice reform, and insists that his big society idea is in there – in case anyone thought it had been ditched.
10.01am: Cameron rehearses the main tenets that culminate in getting rid of the "big, bossy" central state and hand power back to the people. He explains how the two parties have woven together their policies. He ends by saying that he is a Conservative prime minister leading a coalition, and "Nick" is a Lib Dem deputy prime minister helping to push the coalition forward. It's about cooperation and engagement, animated by a spirit of openness. The two parties want to open this out to the whole country, who can have their say via a programme of public scrutiny and consultation.
10.03am: Next week, the Queen's speech will announce plans for a public reading bill to allow the public to have a say.
10.05am: Over to questions from the press. The BBC's Nick Robinson suggests that Cameron and Clegg look happier with each other than with their own parties. He challenges him on taking decisions that will unfold in response to events, such as the current crisis in the eurozone. In response to that, the Lib Dems would want to integrate, while the Tories would resist that at all costs.
Cameron says you do need good relations at the heart of government. Nick and I agree on new politics, he says, but part of the old politics that works is taking proper government discussions around a table, not hunched on a sofa (presumably a dig at Tony Blair). This will lead to the kind of quietly effective government he hopes to lead.
On Robinson's question about events, Cameron agrees that there are policies on which the Tories and the Lib Dems will differ. There are day-to-day events, but a shared vision will help the coalition work.
10.09am: Glen Oglaza from Sky News asks about banking and the establishment of a commission to look at the separation of investment and retail banking, which will report back in one year. There are an awful lot of commissions in this report, points out Oglaza. Cameron says we are all going to have to get used to a new world, which is a new state of mind we have to get into.
Osborne says the urgent priority is getting banks lending again. He says he and Cable have different approaches but they are working on it. He defends the challenging problem of the banking structure. A lot of damage has been done to the economy. A high-powered commission to report on the thorny issue of the structure shows a grown-up approach that allows these arguments to be aired and decided upon, he says.
Cable chips in to say the net lending issue is pressing. Demand is rising as we get recovery and supply is not coming forward. We are going to have to act urgently and decisively, he says.
10.11am: Cameron is asked whether he is not painting over the cracks with the Lib Dems? Cameron says it would be a bad start to call the press churlish but he points out that a full programme has been drawn up within a week. In some countries such a process takes 40 days, 80 even. Yet two parties who have not worked together before (in modern times) have managed it in nine days.
10.13am: Cameron is asked about immigration. Cameron says a big change needs to take place and discussions must begin on how to put a cap in place.
Osborne answers another question on the deficit. He points to the backing the coalition government received from the Bank of England's Mervyn King on its plans for £6bn of in-year cuts.
10.17am: The Guardian's Patrick Wintour asks about proposals to have all-postal primaries for constituency candidates to open up politics. Clegg says having primaries for safe seats will be good for democracy.
Clegg also answers a separate question from Patrick about the child poverty reduction target. Cameron says it's the persistent, deep poverty people are trapped in that will need particular attention and he says Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pension secretary, will look at that.
10.20am: A question on Trident. Could it be replaced by a non-submarine-based option or one that is not constantly at sea? No, says Cameron, because that wouldn't make it a proper deterrent. The Lib Dems are free to pursue other options, he adds. The Guardian has an interesting story on other possible deterrent options today.
On Europe, Cameron announces he is going to Paris later today to meet the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and then to Berlin tomorrow to meet Angela Merkel, the German chancellor.
10.24am: A question on his decision to allow ministers, and Cameron himself, to attend the Tory backbench organisation, the 1922 committee. The prime minister says he thinks it will be much better to have one organisation with one meeting in the spirit of being all in it together.
Pressed on the anger felt among rank-and-file Tories about his decision, Cameron says he is leading from the front. He has offered the party a vote on it, but insists it's much better to have one set of party meetings. He also maintains that his proposal was well received yesterday, though papers today quote a number of disgruntled backbenchers.
Cameron is asked when the referendum on AV will be held, and says this is still being discussed.
Cameron is asked again about this idea of open primaries for relatively safe seats. It would be an option which would help improve democracy by getting more people involved as all households would receive a ballot paper, he says. He cites the Tories' open primary in South Devon, which saw GP Sarah Wollaston chosen, which he says was a real success. He's glad the Lib Dems support this, he adds.
10.30am: Cameron is asked once again about his new relationship with the Lib Dems. He says had he been told a year ago there would be a hung parliament, he would have thought that not unlikely. But he had no idea there would be a coalition with the Lib Dems. He has had to convince people in his party it was the right thing to do, but he hopes people will see the strength of what has been done.
Over to Clegg, who says people may be too ready to underestimate the significance of the new document. Individual parties have their own internal differences; what this deal has done is to front-load all the difficult decisions at the start. Yes, that includes some commissions and the reviews. But what this deal will provide is stability and clarity that is not always apparent from a single-party government.
Cameron chips in again once Clegg has finished speaking. He says the test is not this or that policy, but: is it good strong government? Is it based on shared values? And is there a strong commitment to deliver? He says there is a genuine excitement among the top team, which he believes will "spread out" to the rest of the parties. There endeth a true coalition-style press conference delivered by three cabinet ministers, the deputy prime minister and the prime minister.
11.00am: A recap of this morning:
• The coalition government has published a 31-section document underpinning the historic deal between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. It builds on the founding seven-page document published on Wednesday 12 May. Cameron pointed out that the coalition administration managed to achieve a document in just nine days which takes other countries in such circumstances between 40 and 80 days to achieve (see 10.11am)
• The deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, opened the press conference. He said the document represented a full programme for "fundamental and comprehensive reform"(see 9.37am). While money may be short, government ambition is not, he says. (see 9.46am)
• Prime minister David Cameron said the coalition document would now be subject to public consultation. This is part of the coalition's new commitment to give the public a say. Next week the Queen's speech will include the announcement of a "public reading stage" for bills to give the public an opportunity to comment on proposed legislation online, and a dedicated "public reading day" within a bill's committee stage where those comments will be debated by the committee scrutinising the bill.
• Cameron conceded that some some policies had been lost "on both sides" and the two parties had had to find ways to deal with the issues where they profoundly disagreed. But he said the "real news" – and the concept in which he said all Conservatives believed – is that Britain now had a "strong and stable government in the national interest"
• The business secretary, Vincent Cable, said banks that have been rescued by the government will be the servants, not the masters, of the economy (see 9.49am).
• The chancellor, George Osborne, said policies enshrined in the document would be tested by whether or not they encouraged responsibility, namely restoring Britain's public finances. He said he would unveil more details on the £6bn of in-year cuts on Monday.
• Among the other policies outlined in the new document today is a pledge to make funding available for 200 all-postal primaries over this parliament, targeted at seats which have not changed hands for many years. "These funds will be allocated to all political parties with seats in parliament that they take up, in proportion to their share of the total vote in the last general election." Clegg and Cameron today defended the move as an option to be considered by constituencies to "open up politics".
• On immigration, the document outlines plans to introduce an annual limit on the number of non-EU economic migrants admitted into the UK to live and work, but gives little detail. "We will consider jointly the mechanism for implementing the limit," the document notes.
• The document describes deficit reduction as "the most urgent issue facing Britain". The reduction of the structural deficit will be "significantly accelerated" and the "main burden" will be borne by spending cuts rather than tax rises. Cable showed unity with Osborne at the press conference this morning on the proposed strategy.
• There is a commitment that Lib Dems will be able to abstain from planning reforms that will make it easier to build nuclear power stations. The party has confirmed it will not be regarded as an "issue of confidence".
• The controversial home information packs (Hips) are being scrapped with immediate effect but energy performance certificates will be retained.
11.16am: Danny Alexander, the Scottish secretary, was on Sky News earlier saying the deal represents a strong shared agenda. "What we have emerged with is a policy programme that is stronger than either of the parties' original manifestos. It takes the best ideas from both and will be a really radical reforming government as a result."
Pressed on the fact that just weeks ago the Lib Dems were savaging some of the very Tory policies they have now embraced, Alexander pointed to the balanced general election result and the fact that the policies now proposed would in his view "excite an awful lot of people". He mentions the "animated and very good relationship" between the two partners.
Alexander pointed to Cameron's call for a bit of old fashioned politics in the sense of cabinet politics, rather than sofa government. He also mentions the "very good chemistry that exists between the deputy prime minister and the prime minister and around the cabinet table". This element will be important in ensuring the government responds to events in the best way for this country.
11.20am: Cameron is going to be accruing quite a few air miles over the next 24 hours. Before he pops over to France later today to meet Sarkozy, he's going to Northern Ireland to meet the first minister, the DUP's Peter Robinson, and his deputy, Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness.
He will also have discussions with the leaders of the other parties in the power-sharing executive: the Ulster Unionists (UUP), the Social Democratic and Labour party (SDLP) and the Alliance party.
After France, it's Berlin to visit Merkel tomorrow. It seems he won't be taking his deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, with him on any of these visits.
12.06pm: While Cameron seeks to reassure the public that the good feeling he has about this coalition deal will percolate down and through the respective parties, anger continues to well up in his backyard over his decision to open up the Tory backbench committee, the 1922 committee, to Tory ministers.
Cameron said at a press conference earlier today (see 10.24am) that he was leading from the front and his proposed change for the Tory parliamentary party - subject to a very swift ballot with a deadline set for today - was part of the spirit of being in it "all together".
Bill Cash, Tory MP for Stone, couldn't disagree more, as he argued on Sky just now.
He objects to ministers "paid by the Crown" being brought in to take part in the 1922 committee. He said the merits of the backbench committee is independent expression of opinion based on reason judgments. It's a channel of communication for having meetings in private which are then communicated through the chairman to the leader about the feelings of the backbenchers irrespective of government, because "governments sometimes get it wrong". These matters have to be discussed, albeit in private with the authority of the independence and judgment of backbenchers.
I'm afraid that when I hear about the new politics etc, I'm afraid a lot of this rearranging of cards in the pack actually looks to me like the old politics. It's retaining control over backbenchers, decreasing accountability and in my view decreasing the most essential characteristic of our parliamentary system, which is that the voters choose how they are to be governed.
He also said that MPs have a responsible job to do in holding the government to account. The rule which will require a 55% majority vote to trigger the dissolution of parliament already means that the numbers have been worked out to prevent dissolution happening. The coalition deal and the changes made to the Tory manifesto via the coalition document makes the role of the 1922 committee even more important.
12.11pm: Cash will not be pleased to learn that Conservative central office has just confirmed that the ballot has gone in Cameron's favour.
12.18pm: The results of the ballot asking Tory MPs to accept a change that will see ministers able to play a full part in the 1922 Committee saw 168 in favour to 118 opposed.
This incredibly swift ballot signals an end to the tradition of membership being limited to backbenchers when the Conservative party is in government. Theoretically, this should give Cameron more control over a body that has historically been a thorn in the side for Tory leaders. We shall have to see.
1.13pm: So the full coalition document is out and published, and Cameron has won his fight to change the 1922 committee rules to make it more inclusive – to the horror of many who see this as a watering down of its powerful role to hold the party leadership to account. We end the live blog with a missive from our Ireland correspondent, Henry McDonald, who reports on Cameron's first visit to Northern Ireland since becoming prime minister.
The prime minister will hold talks with the Northern Ireland first minister, Peter Robinson, and the deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness, around lunchtime at Stormont Castle.
Security is tight around the Stormont estate in East Belfast to counter any dissident republican terror threat during the visit.
Cameron's trip to Northern Ireland comes just over a fortnight after his last visit to Belfast when he tried to rally the Ulster Unionists and local Tories during the general election campaign. Despite this the UUP-Conservative alliance failed to return any MPs to Westminster.
During his election trip Cameron launched an attack on Peter Robinson over allegations about the first minister's relationships with property developers and the sale of a slice of his land for £5, which eventually netted his family thousands.
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