In the Thatcher years, Britain hugely deregulated its labour market, only to see it silt up again over Labour’s 13 years in office. Inside the Coalition, resistance to deregulation largely comes from the Liberal Democrats. Two things need to be pointed out to them. First, that they make up only one sixth – not one half – of the Coalition and must expect that Conservative economic ideas will be dominant. Second, that if the economy does not improve, they can expect a very unhappy date in 2015 with the voters, and their antipathy to labour market reform makes this more likely. The main reason for the Lib Dems’ participation in the Coalition is economic recovery – it would be bizarre if their intuitive Left-wing opposition to supply-side reform put this in jeopardy.