After the coalition: What's left?

British politics has entered a new period of flux. In a little over two years since the 2010 general election, the received political wisdom that the Labor party would suffer another defeat in 2015 has shifted to a belief that it has a realistic chance of electoral success. Less clear is whether a potential upswing in the electoral prospects of the center-left will spark a more intense and far-reaching ideological debate about its fundamental ambitions, policies and governing strategies. Today, the first argument is widely viewed to have run into the sand, given the UK's straitened fiscal position and the long-term pressures on public spending that an ageing society faces. The second, in contrast, remains significantly and curiously underdeveloped, particularly given the depth and extent of the recession. Both require urgent attention if Labor is to avoid a politically defensive stance in the run up to 2015.