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Monday 21 May 2012

Why are the Tories so Miserable?

Tuesday, 1st December 2009

My excellent chum Iain Martin observes that seven of the ten most recent polls have put the Tories below the "magic figure" of 40% support. The latest ComRes survey has them on 37%. Perhaps, he wonders, some of the core vote has been scunnered by the Lisbon Treaty shenanigans or perhaps some floating voters are concerned by a perceived Tory zeal for cutting public spending and, hence, they feel, services.

A bit of both, I'd hazard. But, as I've argued before, there's something more than just these elements. Frankly, if you were to take Tory rhetoric at face value the only sensible course, for those with the means to take it, would be emigration. In a variation of Tony Blair's "masochism strategy" David Cameron seems intent upon following a "misery strategy". Everything about Britain is broken, apparently, and everything needs to be changed. Every time a senior Conservative appears on television his (or, occasionally, her) message is that everything's buggered and while a Tory ministry will help alleviate the pain it will be years before anything is fixed. It's fair to say that Dave doesn't come from a place named Hope or, for that matter, from anywhere near it.

Sure, there are problems, some of them serious, and sure, the electorate is less than gruntled, but even allowing for the country's fiscal predicament the Tories give the impression, perhaps unwittingly, of believing that Britain is just the Worst of the Worst Places on Earth.

This is overdone. A little optimism, a little faith a little less relish about all the victory-enhancing grimness we all recognise exists would not go amiss. Things Can't Get Worse is not a great counter to Things Can Only Get Better. A bit of modest faith in the country would not be a terrible thing, nor a recognition or acknowledgment that not everything has gone to pot in the past 12 years. Despite the public finances, it's not all doom and gloom. Is it?

Nobody is asking for sunny delight, but a little less bleakness and a bit more optimism wouldn't be the worst thing either.

Filed under: Britain (737 more articles) , Cameron (227 more articles) , Labour (2135 more articles) , Tories (273 more articles)

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Rhoda Klapp

December 1st, 2009 9:07am Report this comment

Lots of people are concerned by the five issues which are not of concern at all to the political class. On which the tories (or LDs) present no policy difference with the Labour party. Perhaps that is a contributory factor?

Vulture

December 1st, 2009 10:10am Report this comment

I agree with you, Alex. Hope is a votal (misprint, but let it stand since it accidentally expresses what I mean) ingredient in political success. Two leaders who came to power in January 1933 in the midst of the grimmest depression in history based their message on hope: FDR ...and Hitler. (The latter's slogan was 'Unsere Letzte Hoffnung: Hitler' while Roosevelt's campaign song was 'Happy Days Are Here Again'.

But you forget one other essential ingredient: policies. Both Hitler and FDR had policies - however mistaken or downright evil - but what policies does featherweight Dave offer?
Uuumm..... pause for thought.....uuum: a very long pause.....Uuum....I'll get back to you.

This is the worst Govt in British history; even their vaunted NHS is collapsing with the unhealthiest hospitals on the planet, and the worst cancer survival rates in Europe. Out of kindness we won't rehearse their other disasters. Yet what does Dave offer to give us hope of betterment?: sweet FA. If by some miracle he beats Bruin it will be because of the latter's unpopularity, and nothing else.

Pie

December 1st, 2009 11:23am Report this comment

Ask Dave to ape the BNP's education policy as listed on their website and we might be gettin' somewhere

James D

December 1st, 2009 2:59pm Report this comment

Probably the more damaging affair was not the referendum decision (which was manifestly the only one possible and is accepted as such by all but those who are pushing an immediate withdrawal policy), but the twenty-years-out-of-date behaviour of that constituency party in Norfolk. Cameron's failure to take a "no place for bigotry" line and expel the leadership of the constituency party from the Conservative Party made him look weak and raised doubts with swing voters.

Sir Graphus

December 1st, 2009 3:31pm Report this comment

Selecting Zac Goldsmith for 1 of your key marginals was the most awful misjudgement. I know that by and large the electorate is sort of OK with the whole Old Etonian thing, for the moment, but vastly privileged non-dom tax-vague rich kids we are not.

call me dave

December 1st, 2009 7:36pm Report this comment

Hundreds of thousands of white Britons ARE emigrating each year to escape the multi-cultural welfare state.
Meanwhile, Dave twitters on about climate change.

daniel maris

December 1st, 2009 8:49pm Report this comment

I said many weeks ago, when they were around 40 or above, that they were making a big mistake by focussing on the public sector and on pensions and generally giving the impression they are quite happy to see working people's benefits and standard of living cut in order to make good the misdeeds of their banker friends.

The public is definitely NOT happy about the Old Etonian thing.

Add to that people like me deciding they might as well vote UKIP because the Tories will change nothing and I think that explains the slump. The Tories are only being shored up by Brown's lugubrious and life-sapping presence. If it was Mandelson, they'd be level-pegging by now. Peter Hain likewise. Not sure about Alan Johnson, he's not that great.

The Tories need to enter into a compact with the public sector, indicating a determination not to cut terms of employment and to seek cuts through cutting of waste and higher productivity.

In the private sector they ought to be talking about restoring proper pension schemes.

I don't think they have the will to do any of this.

So, as long as Brown is there, it's going to be a hung parliament.

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