Posh chaps take power in Commons

They formed Britain's first coalition government since the second world war, dedicated to imposing savage public-spending cuts, curbing wages and slashing welfare benefits.

Lib Dem leader Mr Clegg and his lieutenants betrayed millions of people who voted for his party under the illusion that it was anti-Tory.

Tory leader Mr Cameron is committed to inflicting a vicious cuts Budget on the British people within the next 50 days - despite unemployment soaring by 53,000 to 2.51 million on Wednesday.

The Budget will be presented by new Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne - another wealthy toff.

Left Labour MP John McDonnell declared: "In return for the bauble of the title of Deputy Prime Minister and a few seats in the Cabinet, Nick Clegg has sold out the country by delivering us all up to the Tories for the most savage assault on our public services since the 1980s under Thatcher.

"I urge Labour MPs to go back to their constituencies and prepare for the fightback."

Mr McDonnell added: "Our task now is to mobilise our communities to fight back against every threat from this coalition of the cutters to close our hospitals and clinics, to shut our classrooms and cut teachers and to attack our pensions and welfare benefits."

As part of their shabby deal, the Lib Dems secured a promise of a referendum on introducing the Alternative Vote system for elections.

But they agreed to the Tory policy of immediate extra spending cuts of £6 billion and dropped their opposition to full-scale replacement of Trident nuclear weapons.

The coalition agreement was steamrollered through the Lib Dem federal executive and the party's MPs on Tuesday night after Mr Cameron had already announced he was forming a coalition.

Mr Cameron agreed to Lib Dem demands to raise the tax threshold for people on lower incomes and to introduce legislation for fixed-term parliaments lasting five years.

Six Lib Dems are in the Cabinet, with Nick Clegg as Deputy Prime Minister, Vince Cable as Business Secretary and former investment banker David Laws as Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

In all, the party which won just 57 seats will hold around 20 ministerial posts.

But the Tories will keep a tight grip on key posts, with William Hague as Foreign Secretary, Theresa May as Home Secretary and Liam Fox as Defence Secretary.

Chancellor Osborne threatened on Wednesday: "There is going to be a significant acceleration in the reduction of the structural budget deficit."

Mr Osborne also promised "big reforms" to welfare payments.

Westminster observers predicted that Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg would rub along quite well together, as rich men from similar backgrounds.

Both went to public schools and Oxbridge and Mr Cameron is the first old Etonian to be Prime Minister since Alec Douglas-Home in 1964.

In his inaugural Downing Street speech, Mr Cameron treated the nation to its first taste of Tory government hypocrisy when he promised to rebuild communities and families, despite his commitment to huge cuts.

Shamelessly, he declared: "I want to make sure that my government always looks after the elderly, the frail, the poorest in our country."