David Cameron is a really nice bloke. No, really I mean it. He is the biggest assett of the Conservative party. People who don't like the Conservatives still seem to like him. In fact he's probably liked more by the general public than he is liked by many Tory activists, who'd much prefer a really nasty leader, who would put Johnny Foreigner in his place, slash public spending and privatise the NHS. We live in strange strange times. As I look at the Conservative party, it starts to resemble a marketing campaign. The product is Dave and we are the customers. Policies are seen as problematic, so these are never mentioned. Have you noticed how the posters are all about "nice" aspirations? "I'm voting Conservative to mend our broken society".
We are sleepwalking over a cliff. The country is nearly bankrupt. Make no mistake, after the election there will have to be deep cuts and tax rises. We are all going to suffer. Sadly both the Conservative and Labour parties are trying to con us. They are saying nothing about how they will address these issues. If you have to buy some nasty medicine, wouldn't you like to read the side effects on the label first? I don't like being lied to and I think that what we've seen from the two major parties is extremely dishonest. We are going to be paying for the credit crunch for years, if not decades. Sadly, they don't say what they'll do to fix it. High Speed train lines to Birmingham won't fix the hole in the finances. Abolishing inheritance tax won't fix the hole in the finances. Lord Ashcroft has avoided paying taxes for years by exploiting his non dom status. This has allowed hiom to build up a huge fortune, which he now uses to print glossy leaflets, which are designed to sell us Dave. The Tories manfesto :-
Q: How will the Conservatives fix the fiscal defecit?
A: David Cameron is a really nice bloke so he'll fix it
Q: How will we pay for teachers to teach our kids when there's no money in the bank?
A: David Cameron is a really nice bloke so he'll make sure they get the money
Q: How will we pay for a High Speed rail line to Birmingham when the Country is bust?
A: David Cameron will find the cash because he's a really nice bloke
Q: How will we increase Police numbers to protect us in our homes, when the Country is Bust?
A: David Cameron will support our coppers because he'sa really nice bloke
Q: How will we make sure everyone who needs treatment by the NHS will get it when the Country is broke?
A: David Cameron will pay them because he's a really nice bloke.
If you believe the Conservative manifesto, all of the questions above will be addressed. The sad thing is they don't say how. The first question is the key question. How will we fix the defecit. Let me tell you one thing, which you might not realise. Greece hasn't addressed it's defecit. It has had to go the EU for a £20 billion bailout. If we don't address the issues,w e'll be going cap in hand to the EU in the same way. That will be the end of Euroscepticism, as he who pays the piper calls the tune. If the EU turns around and says "Here's the cash to bail you out, now join the Euro" we will be in no position to disagree.
I don't believe that any political party deserves to be elected unless they spell out what they will do to fix the defecit and engages in a public debate. I've seen no evidence that the Conservatives are brace enough to deal with the problems, or even have a clue where to start
Rog
ReplyDeleteI think David Cameron has been very badly advised. When Tony Blair became Labour leader, he set about wooing middle England, convincing Conservatives that it was safe to vote Labour again. (Actually, it was Maggie’s reforms which made it safe to vote Labour, but that’s a separate discussion.)
Many ‘old’ Labour activists were deeply unhappy at the direction in which Blair was leading them, but they went along with it desperate to see the Tories thrown out of office. The plan succeeded, but as we now know, New Labour has been an unmitigated disaster for this country.
Cameron seems to be trying the same thing in reverse by convincing wavering Labour and LibDem voters that he has reformed the “nasty” Tory party and it is safe to vote for them again. It is understandable that Labour voters would find him an attractive electoral proposition because he was not part of the last Conservative government and is seen as a clean break.
The problem is that many traditional Tory voters are deeply unhappy with many modern Conservative policies and resent the implication that they were ever “nasty”. They won’t vote Labour or LibDem in a million years, but they might abstain from voting altogether. Blair was able to rely on support from the old Labour guard to carry him to victory, but Cameron will struggle to do the same thing.
There is a myth - which the LibDems seem to subscribe to, that the only way to fix the economy is to cut spending and raise taxes. Traditional Conservatives believe that spending needs to cut along with taxes. It has been shown time and time again that reducing taxation helps to stimulate the economy. The Conservatives have already identified some £40 billion of public expenditure which could be cut without affecting services. If Cameron had the courage of his convictions to stand up and say this, rather than trying to portray himself as the heir to Blair, I am sure he would win over suspicious Conservatives and secure a working majority at the election.
David,
ReplyDeleteYou've hit the nail on the head (you really should try writing a blog :^} ). The Conservatives should have the courage of their convictions. They should publish their plans and sell them to the nation. It seems to me that the they are too busy pretending to be the Lib Dems to actually tell us who they are.
I know I'm biased, but I think the Lib Dems have apretty sensible and coherent approach right now. Unless the Tories have the courage of their convictions and start behaving like a Conservative party, they may lose their core vote. It is highly debatable whether they will ever grab the Lib Dem core with their strategy. As such they might just persuade everyone to stay at home and lose a chunk of seats to the Lib Dems.
As to Labour. They don't need to publish a manifesto, they have their record. We'll judge them on that.