Last updated at 10:44, Saturday, 31 July 2010

Five Days That Changed Britain (BBC2) was all a bit premature, if truth be known.

The coalition isn’t three months old yet.

How can anyone judge whether Britain has been transformed in a mere matter of weeks? Well, the BBC’s worthy but dull Nick Robinson clearly reckons he can.

Otherwise why would he examine Britain’s failure to agree on a majority government in May as a see change in the country’s approach to politics for all time?

This documentary was really one for politicians, their hangers-on and anoraks who think they might one day like to be politicians... because they already know better. Well, at least somebody could get excited.

For the rest of us it looked like a rehash of what we can still freshly recall as five days of political power-brokering, manipulation of public opinion (or lack of it) a prime minister’s vain efforts to pretend he hadn’t just been booted out of office and a party leader selling himself to the highest bidder .

A bit grubby, if I remember correctly.

In the end Britain’s coalition – our first since the second World War – was formed by the two peas in a pod who had shone most brightly in televised debating beauty contests.

But did any of that change Britain beyond all recognition? Ask us again in four years time, Nick.

First published at 09:02, Saturday, 31 July 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk