From 18 Doughty Street
"David Cameron is playing an intelligent game
Peter Watson argues that far from selling the Conservative Party down the river, David Cameron is actually playing an intelligent game of politics.
Much has been made in the weeks and months since David Cameron became leader of the Conservative Party of the lack of policy he has been putting forward. It has been argued time and time again by commentators on both sides of the political fence that David Cameron is leading a party without conviction, a party devoid of philosophy.
One question that has not been asked however is what advantage Cameron gains by not detailing policy. The answer is that he gains a great deal.
Firstly Cameron is able to increase the Party’s market share by re-branding it, without having to change the substance of the product offered. Essentially he has put new packaging around the breakfast cereal that is conservative philosophy; a lighter shade of conservative blue, a new logo, cuddlier rhetoric, powerful photo ops in inner city areas etc. Cameron is quite simply getting people to fall in love with the packaging before they fall in love with the product. And it’s working.
Secondly Cameron would quite simply be wasting ammo if he were to produce policy at this point. Any policy put forward would be attacked by the Labour Party under the leadership of Tony Blair – but that is not the Labour Party Cameron will face at the next general election. If he were to release policy now Cameron would be letting somebody else (Blair) do Gordon Brown’s work for him.
Put another way Cameron is biding his time, waiting for Brown to take over and ensuring that when Brown does become PM the Conservatives will have plenty of ammo to fire at him while his premiership is still in its crawling stage. Blair is a lame duck and Cameron knows it.
Those who wish to judge Cameron would do well to wait until he faces his real opponent, Gordon Brown. Fortunately for them the wait is almost over."
And so a commentor confirmed...
"Well Said!
Agree totally with this. Cameron and crew have obviously taken the view that if they get too specific all that will happen is the usual reponse from NuLab - Tories are cutting this, don't care about the poor or pensioners, are only concerned for profits and eat babies too!
Whilst they can't openly say now they will cut taxes to create growth (see above) I am pretty sure this will be their strategy depending on where the starting point is when they come into power. So all the frustrated Heffers and Dalys should be a little more understanding of what Cameron is is doing.
By: Ted Foan - 09-05-07 22:43"
Saturday, 12 May 2007
What the Tories Really (still) Believe in
Disturbing Peace
Ex-boxer Chris Eubank was arrested for breach of the peace on Thursday as he tried to promote peace. Eubank was swept (do you see what I did there) into a police van but later released.
Also....
It was very peaceful at Michael Meacher's Labour leadership launch.
Saturday, 24 February 2007
UK Children Are Well Rounded
News came last week that children in Britain are well rounded. UK children were the big fat bottom of an international league table of child well-being produced by UNICEF. Our kids are fat, fourteen and fed up, it seems. And all weighed in with their proscriptions of how to drag them by the ear'ole further up the table of results for next time. Howard Jacobson as ever makes some pertinent observations on the subject...
"It confirms what we have all been saying for decades: that lax parenting doesn't work; that strict parenting doesn't work; that schools don't expect enough of our children; that schools expect too much of our children; that our society is too ambition-driven; that our children lack ambition; that our children are rampaging hoodlums; that our children live in trembling and fear; that a two-parent family is an outdated concept; that children from one-parent families are disadvantaged; that we live in an infantilised society; that our society finds no room for children; that the child comes into the world trailing clouds of glory; that a child is a fiend hid in a cloud."
This neat summation of What The Problem Is reminds me of a quote I once read but have never since been able to locate (and so I paraphrase it and probably I have the wrong profession as the object of the quote, though it suits well here)
"a politician's job is to think up problems for their solutions"
Read all about it....
More culture needed
More state needed
Less media-hype needed
David Cameron needed
More Tony Blair needed
We shouldn't really give a toss
Thursday, 22 February 2007
Big Tent Event
Laundry's New Anorak
...is this young man 's invention.
The Rotamate is a rotary washing airer complete with its own pac-a-mac to keep the rain off the washing.
Last night the young inventor, Roger Hind, won backing from investors in the BBC's Dragon's Den. It never rains but it pours!
