It was billed as being a breakthrough moment in domestic politics, another milestone along the way towards a different way of governing Britain.

It is too early to lavish such plaudits on yesterday's Government announcements but there can be little doubt that we have witnessed the unveiling of some of the most radical and exciting legislative proposals for many years.

With a period of austerity looming, we are in no mood to replicate the euphoria of 1997 and the ascent of Tony Blair, but this administration – hampered and compromised in so many ways – deserves credit for its legislative zeal.

The Liberal Democrat-Conservative coalition policy agreement is essentially a new manifesto – but one that is quite different to any other. It contains, plainly, the policies of two parties, but policies that have been knitted together tidily to provide something of substance and credibility. Areas of agreement have been a platform for radical proposals. And both parties have been given space in certain areas. Where points of contention have emerged, they have been neatly sidestepped.

Perhaps surprisingly, the Conservatives' pre-election pledge to provide a free vote on fox hunting survived the policy negotiations. Given that those in opposition are likely to balk at a repeal of the law, and given also that most of the Tories will back it, this vote – which matters so much to the countryside – will offer us a fascinating clue to the current temper of Lib Dem sentiment.

The success of the bill will almost certainly rely on the conscience of Lib Dems in the Commons. If they conspire to thwart repeal, tensions between the fledgling coalition partners must surely grow. It will be a defining moment for Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg.

Parliamentary reform and civil liberties have emerged as the significant winners today, because both parties have endorsed this agenda. And because these are policy areas where both blue and gold are in harmony, the Lib Dems have been able to press for more adventurous proposals on the issues than a Tory majority government may have done.

The referendum on the alternative vote may be a disappointment to those wanting full proportional representation, but the rest of the parliamentary reforms are some of the most wide-ranging and radical since the 1832 Reform Act.

It is right that they are radical – although we suggest they do not eclipse the ground-breaking events of 1832, as Mr Clegg suggested at one point in his keynote speech on Wednesday.

But, while Lord Grey's legislation was a first step towards universal suffrage so a referendum on AV may prove to be a first step towards the eventual goal of PR. That must be the Lib Dem expectation today.

The extent of the proposed reform of Parliament, including fixed terms, merits serious recommendation. It may not quite match up to 1832's introduction of fully-fledged democracy, but it is as impressive as any parliamentary reform in living memory.

And isn't this one of the key issues for which a majority of the electorate voted? After the MPs' expenses scandal had wholly undermined the reputation of the Westminster system, it was always predicted that this election would mark a sea change in British politics, that the people would exact a price from those they had trusted to govern.

New proposals on civil liberties are equally substantial and precise, and agreement in education means the pupil premium – a policy both parties supported – will go ahead.

If the consensus looked threadbare anywhere, it was on the Human Rights Act. The parties' approach to this contentious law – supported with vigour by the Lib Dems but opposed by many Tories – is vague, with a pledge to create a commission looking a lot like a bid to punt the issue into the long grass.

But perhaps we can forgive the coalition members their moments of weakness. What is emerging, day by day, is the clear fact that by and large, both parties are doing their damnedest to give us progressive government in a time of need.