Cameron is taking the fight to Brown
Fraser Nelson 12:46pm
Here is my top half dozen points from Cameron’s angry, feisty, Brown’s-a-liar press conference today.
1. GO AHEAD, BROWN, MAKE MY DAY “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I can just go on and on, question time after question time, revealing the cuts that he himself is planning. Or he can recognise this is the wrong approach not only for his party but the country.” Cameron devoted the last two PMQs to cuts. Is he threatening here to keep doing it every week? I think he should, and agree with Matthew Parris that he should be ruthlessly boring about this topic. Not only because a Prime Minister in a democracy should not be allowed to lie as Brown is lying, but because this strategy deploys a little political jujitsu. It turns Brown’s weight against him, takes the debate from Tory cuts to Tory honesty v Labour lies. Every time the voters hear Brown going on about spending, they’ll think – Jimmy Nail style – ‘he’s lying’. Brown may very well will play into Cameron’s hands here.
2. FOUR STAGES OF CUTS Cameron laid out the process: 1. Admit cuts need to be made. 2. Identify a few (ID cards, ‘regional nonsense’, government advertising, consultancy etc). 3. Go further: ‘tax credits being paid to people with relatively high salaries’ and 4. “Yes I accept we have more to do, more to say, but that’s compared to the government who haven’t even reached stage one.” Cameron did this in the reverse order, though. ID cards are not going to come up with the £26bn cuts (minimum) that he’ll need. So to rephrase his answer: “We admit to cuts, okay, and Labour don’t. But cuts where? Not health. Not DFID. But that’s all we’ll say.”3. NO TORY SPENDING REVIEW BEFORE ELECTION EITHER “I don’t believe in a full-on shadow budget.” A reference, I suspect, not to John Smith but to Letwin’s disastrous Medium Term Financial Strategy of February 2004 where he laid out spending plans that promised to outspend Labour. Brown’s decision to cancel the Spending Review has of course let Cameron off the hook – he will now face zero pressure to lay out his own spending plans.
4. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE “I don’t care what the government does anymore. They can announce cuts, they can announce increases, they can set the whole thing to music and do a karaoke. I have completely lost faith, as has most of the country, in anything this government says. You can see it every week in PMQs when the Prime Minister stands up and says ‘black is white’.” This may sound unremarkable, but consider Tory psychology. Fear of what Gordon Brown might say has stymied Tory intellectual development for at least a decade. Even now, some Tory policymakers will steer clear of policies that are needed saying ‘If we say x, Brown will say y’. They can bring this up in conversation, and you want to scream at them, ‘for the love of God, can’t you see he’s utterly discredited? Cameron is here explicitly declaring his party’s independence from fear of Brown’s mendacious attack lines – and rightly so. I hope this message goes right down the Tory machine.
5. PANTS ON FIRE Q: “Are you calling the PM today a liar?” A: “I didn’t quite put it like that… I try to use my words.” Again, as Matthew Parris argued on Saturday, ‘lie’ is not a word polite people use. And it should never be used in error – that’s why we refer to ‘Brownies’ here on CoffeeHouse. But Brown’s line on spending is a lie. We have decided to call it by its name – but it is a vulgar word, that people shy away from as it can make the accuser sound hysterical. He said later: “There have been too many examples where the PM’s approach has been to say something he knows is not true, but he thinks he will get away with”.6. MOVING IN WITH OSBORNE Q: Do you recognise reports that you plan to
share a back office with Osborne? A: “There is not a shred or ounce of complacency in me or our top team… There is no time being spent on thinking who would sit where and, frankly, there won’t be.” I first raised this in my News of the World column yesterday, and I can tell you Cameron speaks with forked tongue when he says no one is thinking about sitting arrangements. He has started negotiations with the civil service, this takes up quite a bit of time. But the fact that such negotiations are taking place runs the risk of making him look complacent. The Tories are very sensitive about this, so Cameron denies what’s going on. He should think of a more honest way of dealing with this question, because it’ll come up again.
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seb2
June 29th, 2009 1:10pm Report this commentIts difficult for Cameron if he is going to bang on about Brown "not being straight with people" then as soon as he gets a question where he risks looking "complacent" he just lies in answer to it.
Ache an Effer
June 29th, 2009 1:11pm Report this commentPoint 4 is spot on, Fraser. I had exactly this response from a senior shadow cabinet minister when I badgered him about financial regulation a few years ago. His response was "Brown will just point to the mess on company pensions" as if that was an answer.
Now to go the whole hog and present the case for tax cuts, with courage.
Ivan D
June 29th, 2009 1:24pm Report this commentIn point 1, you write up, Dave: Truth Teller! but by point 6, you're telling us that he's also Dave: the lying liar's liar. Do you see why some of us are quite so unimpressed by the idea that David Cameron of all people should lead a crusade for honesty?
YouCannotBeSerious!
June 29th, 2009 1:38pm Report this commentFraser, have you just invented a new irregular verb???
I speak with forked tongue
You tell Brownies
He's a liar...
Hat tip: Yes Minister
The Masked Marvel
June 29th, 2009 1:42pm Report this commentGood point about the jujitsu and lies vs. truth, Fraser. If nothing else, Cameron ought to try shifting the public's anger to dishonest Labour, rather than dishonest politicians, full stop. That can be the only antidote to the BBC and the usual media suspects trying to remind everyone about "the Thatcher years".
chris
June 29th, 2009 1:43pm Report this commentDC needs to use the 'L' word as soon as possible in PMQs and flush out Bercow, who will be obliged to tell DC off.
DC can then raise the stakes from then on, and each time refer the lies to the Speaker for adjudication.
PMQs are supposed to be about answers, not lies. It's very straight forward.
The Bellman
June 29th, 2009 1:54pm Report this commentIvan D: I'm no fan of Casual Dave, but there is a smidgen of a difference between not being frank about your seating plans (so as not to appear complacent), and lying about your spending plans (so as not to be exposed as an arrogant, thuggish incompetent who wrecked the nation's finances).
George Laird
June 29th, 2009 2:10pm Report this commentDear All
I had to laugh at this strapline;
"Cameron is taking the fight to Brown".
Was Osbourne with him tucked in behind his left leg peeking out?
Bring back Spitting image the Osbourne puppet would be great.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
wonderfulforhisagew
June 29th, 2009 2:11pm Report this commentseb2 1:10pm
What else would you expect from the Heir to Blair?
John Page
June 29th, 2009 2:17pm Report this commentTo mix metaphors, there seem to several trains of thought there where you started the ball rolling, Fraser :)
Alex
June 29th, 2009 2:26pm Report this commentOn no. 6, cameron should say that government has been disfunction for so much of labour's time in office that, just as he is making plans for controling budgets, he is looking at ways for government to work in a more effective and constructive way.
Grumpy Old Man
June 29th, 2009 2:29pm Report this comment@ Ivan D. OK I agree that there's a certain truth in "Physician, heal thyself"! But switching from a mindset of credible denial to one of economical Honesty( for no politician can tell the truth all the time) is a very difficult thing to do. Nevertheless, it's a change of approach that will win over the electorate-because of the novelty value if nothing else
Simon Stephenson
June 29th, 2009 2:42pm Report this commentPoint 4
"Fear of what Gordon Brown might say has stymied Tory intellectual development for at least a decade. Even now, some Tory policymakers will steer clear of policies that are needed saying ‘If we say x, Brown will say y’. They can bring this up in conversation, and you want to scream at them, ‘for the love of God, can’t you see he’s utterly discredited? Cameron is here explicitly declaring his party’s independence from fear of Brown’s mendacious attack lines – and rightly so. I hope this message goes right down the Tory machine"
This needs to be very, very carefully handled. Brown may be discredited, somewhat at least, but Labour isn't yet. There are millions of people willing themselves to give Labour the benefit of the doubt, if for nothing else because they've voted for them three elections in a row. So they, these Labour voters will have a feeling of responsibility for recent events, and will want to take any excuse to give Labour a chance to put it all right again. They're waiting for a chance to say "Labour isn't Brown", and the Tories must be very careful not to allow them to make Brown a scapegoat for their collective failures.
As I've argued before, it's critical that the Tories insist on repeating over and over again what is actually the truth - that Brown is Labour, and Labour is Brown.
It's regrettable that Cameron and Co. can't put the issues to the public, but that's what Labour's willingness to abuse the trust in authority has brought about. Even taking the enormity of our economic problems into account, to me there's no more important goal for the next government than to make it impossible for a bunch of mendacious charlatans ever to hold public office again.
TrevorsDen
June 29th, 2009 3:00pm Report this commentChris - You cannot call people liars in the house of commons.
David Belchamber
June 29th, 2009 3:15pm Report this commentThe simplest way to make Brown look (even more of) a fool is to say that the conservatives "will at least match Labour's cuts, as set out by the chancellor" and then quote the 'gross' and 'net' figures.
Confuse the issue with facts!
cmp
June 29th, 2009 3:34pm Report this commentLove the 90's pop culture references Fraser. Keep 'em coming!
Andy Pandy
June 29th, 2009 3:48pm Report this commentI agree absolutely with you Simon. Somehow the attack has tom be broadened beyond Brown to Labour. It is Labour tht cannot be trusted regardless who is the leader.- which is to lie. Because Brown will not be contesting this next election. He will have run away beforehand - as he always does.
2trueblue
June 29th, 2009 4:00pm Report this commentCameron has to continue to take the fight to Brown and labour. They have had such an easy time with the media for so long and Cameron has to get on with it. Repeating the question is a good tactic, Brown can come out with his tractor statistics as usual, but the public are learning that it is all just a scam.
We have had the relaunch of Brown and I seem to remember that all the initiatives were ones we have seen before? They have failed to come about before, so well try again Gordon.
The public are now listening and remembering where we heard it all before, that is all it is with Brown, words.
Simon Stephenson
June 29th, 2009 5:14pm Report this commentAndy Pandy 3.48pm
I think the decision will be taken out of Brown's hands, but, if it were not, I agree that he'd almost certainly resign rather than face rejection at the polls.
He has a character that is incapable of accepting that he may be at fault, and this is why he shies away from any confrontation that he hasn't already set up so that the "enemy" can't win. Where he has had the opportunity to prevent the "enemy" from winning, then, like all bullies, he relishes landing blows on a neutered opponent.
All in all, he's one of this nation's less savoury characters, but this has been known since the early 1970's. That it hasn't stopped him from becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer, Leader of the Labour Party and then Prime Minister says a lot about the quality of the people who run the Labour Party. That they see nothing shameful in imposing on society someone so sociopathic as its leader.
Simon Stephenson
June 29th, 2009 5:21pm Report this comment2trueblue : 4.00pm
If Cameron keeps asking the same question at PMQs, just watch Bercow rule against him being allowed to do so.
Labour didn't put Bercow there to allow Cameron to taunt Brown. Maybe when it becomes opportune to ditch Brown they'll get it set up, to help make the new Messiah look even more glossy, but not until then, I fear.
TGF UKIP
June 29th, 2009 7:51pm Report this commentHaven't seen the TV news but big question is did this make the telly? Bet it didn't but Browns statement did.
Would Dave have made the telly, though, if he'd used the "L" word. Damn right he would, even the BBC would have had to cover that. Long past the time for Dave to get down and dirty and when he does Joe Public might start to think he's serious. Till then he'll just continue to be thought the silver spoon spiv he actually is.
dorothy wilson
June 29th, 2009 8:11pm Report this commentBercow said, at the end of PMQs last week, ministers should stop announcing policies to the media before having done so to Parliament. The Housing Minister seemed to be doing just that on the Today programme this morning. What will Bercow do about it?
dorothy wilson
June 29th, 2009 8:13pm Report this commentSimon Stephenson 5.21 pm
If Bercow does that DC's response should simply be that if he [Bercow] insisted on the PM answering the question there would be no need to repeat it.
Jamal Akhbar
June 30th, 2009 9:31am Report this commentCameron should ask Parliament what the difference is between Madoff and Brown? Answer, they both spent other people's money, but Madoff got 150 years.
Sasquatch
June 30th, 2009 9:58am Report this comment"George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University"
I suggest that, if you have a human rights issue with Glasgow University, you take it to the EU Courts
John Law
July 3rd, 2009 9:20pm Report this commentTrevorsDen
June 29th, 2009 3:00pm
"Chris - You cannot call people liars in the house of commons."
Or flip your second home address
Get real you are talking about a public toilet
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