Monday 27 December 2010

WHERE'S CAMERON GOING? WE ASK, AS ANOTHER PLEDGE BITES THE DUST

As Dean points out in a good post on Cameron and his future, another of the Tory’s manifesto promises, a revision of "hunting with hounds" legislation in England, has been dropped for the foreseeable future.

Quite apart from fox hunting, which is of only peripheral concern to me, the first thing I would suggest to Cameron is that he must try to keep some, or even one, of his manifesto promises.

Snide politicking apart, I think most people would accept that when a party has been out of government for a long time, there will be a certain fumbling at the beginning. A prime or first minister, who has never held a cabinet position himself (Cameron, Salmond, Blair for example), along with a government of inexperienced ministers at all levels, is bound to produce wobbles.

But the public has a short tolerance span. They have to hit the ground running and he needs to start getting things right.

On top of that Cameron has to share governance with a party which, in reality, comes from the other side of the spectrum, and whose leader seems to be the only one of its members who feels at ease with the PM’s party’s policies. Cameron's own party gives the impression of being decidedly put out about Liberals being treated more leniently than Tories when they err (eg Vince Cable et al) and being allowed to announce all the “good” policies (according to John Redwood).

Cameron’s policies are controversially Thatcherite in nature. He’s brought nothing new to the table (apart from a seemingly greater tolerance of gays and ethnic minorities within his party). But he means to slash public spending to bring down the deficit, in Thatcherite fashion. It’s a risky strategy. The USA, China, Japan, and Germany (the four largest economies in the world) have all chosen the opposite way of getting out of their economic problems... by stimulating the economy.

So far his education secretary has put his foot in his mouth every time he has opened it, and his health policies are, to put it mildly, controversial with doctors and public alike. Additionally, at least in the early stages more money for less health will be the result.

Cameron can look forward to inflation taking off, interest rates rising, house repossessions, rents soaring, no housing for the people made homeless... and his hopes of private industry taking up the unemployed slack is probably a little farfetched to begin with, and will be even less likely if loans are even more difficult or expensive to get.

Most people, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, don’t believe that the “we are all in this together” slogan (which seems to have disappeared recently from the coalition rhetoric) was ever even vaguely adopted by the rich and super rich, which includes a large number of the government.

The Big Society, which seems to be Cameron’s only real idea, is another possibly well meaning, but extremely vague notion that few understand and those who do think will work well, where it work, and be a disaster most other places. Likewise the English local government reorganisations with Parish Councils getting more powerf and funding will probably do relatively well in the leafy lanes, and fall flat on its face in the inner cities.

The government seems to be pinning its hopes on a successful royal wedding, and Olympics, to make Brits feel proud, patriotic and willing to display “L'esprit de Dunkirque”.

It’s a flimsy base on which to build a government.


Pics: (1) Hard to swallow Dave? Now you know how we feel. (2) Wee Gove wanting to strangle the civil servants that allowed him to make such a fool of himself in his first ministerial announcement: The one he had to retract the next day, only to find out that the retraction was all wrong too! (3) Vince Nuclear Cable. If he had been a Tory there would be a new Business Secretary, much to the Tories’ chagrin. (4) I couldn’t resist another pic of wee Govey. He’s such a fine looking fellow!

18 comments:

  1. What about Nowhere man CH?

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  2. tris

    the one thing that gets me is everyone knows one way of paying of the deficit is to inflate it away
    and Cameron/Osborne are using this to stealthily erode the value of the annual dept...and nothing is said????

    Flimsy base----Cameron reminds me of a quote about Loyd george

    There is no Lloyd George. but if you were to shut him in a room and look through the keyhole there would be nobody there-Margot Asquith


    I like this one for Clegg


    The Coalition Government of 1918 onwards really was pretty bad, and it is a discreditable episode in our history that Lloyd George, a great man who came into public life as a great Radical and who, as his later history showed, retained so much of real radicalism in his heart, should at that moment, of all moments, have chosen to hang on to personal power at the price of giving way to the worst elements in the community — only to be cast out by the Tories like an old shoe, when he had served his purpose, killed the Liberal Party, and deceived the working class so thoroughly that they would never trust him again.

    * Margaret Cole, in Growing Up Into Revolution (1949)

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  3. I see that the Labour Party beset with the usual divisions you get when a party that has been in power for a long time and is then booted out, is back in the opinion polls to where it was pre-Gordon Brown. So a leaderless Labour party was able to hold its own against the coalition when they were neck and neck in the polls. Now Labour run by an inexperienced idiot is pulling ahead, if they ever get a competent and charismatic leader God help the Tories!

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  4. Munngy


    Is that the UK Labour Party or the Scottish Labour party........as Labour is ahead in the polls in both ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! oops just fell off me chair and pooed me pants ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiHrSsJm82U

    its a new dawn a new day and i am feeling good!!!

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  5. That first image... it's like wearing the specs from 'Them!' almost.
    I reckon once he's on more steady footing he'll be launched into the fox hunting thing. I mean, he's already attacked the people, kept up the Western world's attack on the environments of the world, so he's bound to be up for kicking some poor wee animals down.
    Right now, however, fox hunting is too contentious an issue, and as has been pointed out, he really needs to popularity, because he ain't got much, and that might as well kill him off (or at least incite activists to yet more anger).

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  6. Aposite comments Niko, particularly the one about Clegg.

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  7. Ah Munguin, the problem is finding a charismatic and competent leader. Who have they got that could even begin to fit the bill?

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  8. Niko... Do you really think old Whatsit is up to the job of running the country? And who would he have in his cabinet? They are all mince!

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  9. Well, he might Laz, but I reckon he's going to have to try to get popular with some of his own people soon.

    This will be seen by the huntin', shootin', fishin' brigade as another sop to the Liberals.

    I suppose he is reckoning that the pro hunting lot will be less volatile in their protests...

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  10. tris

    well it seems the Scottish people are fated to find out after next May

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  11. ch


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnUDUOLN5lo

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  12. It's a pity Ringo isn't there to take Cameron somewhere, CH.... Mars would be good!

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  13. Well maybes yes and maybes no, Niko, who can tell?

    But if it were you who would you have in the Cabinet?

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  14. Hello there,

    Just a quick note to let you know that my blog has now changed its name from the Cornish Democrat to the Cornish Republican with a new URL: http://thecornishrepublican.blogspot.com/

    Did you use to link to me on your blog? I'd be happy to exchange links. Let me know.
    --
    Oll an gwella

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  15. Cornubian...

    Hi,

    Thanks for letting me know. I've added you to the blog roll...

    Oll an gwella with the new name. I take it that the 'Duck' of Cormwall is not much in favour then?

    I discovered that among his many titles he is the Prince of Scotland, which has encouraged me to go live in France!!

    Hope to see more of you... :¬)

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