The old gray lady on Cameron

Travis Bickle

Thought you were talking about Verity. Can't even begin to think what that article would have been like, although I have to say I'm increasingly coming around to her way of thinking.., but then I sit back on reflect on the motley crew we've got now and start humming "things can only get better"

Jeremy

"Heavily influenced by American conservative Christianity, this wing of the party often speaks of “compassionate conservatism."

I can see nothing compassionate about "American conservative Christianity" - in fact all the phrase conjures up for me are images of rabid preachers-from-hell and the (literally) murderous anti-abortion fanatics. There is nothing either conservative or compassionate about them.

Were I Mr Cameron, I would be keeping an ear closely attuned to the widespread and well-founded scepticism being felt in this country about the nature of our relationship to the United States. Rather, that is, than listening to and being taken in by easy-sounding flattery from the Americas.

After all, it is the British people who will be voting him either in or out.

Dave B

I've never been clear on what is meant by 'modernising' the Conservative Party, with Mr Portillo, it seemed to mean adopting political correctness.

I've told myself that Mr Cameron's version of 'modernisation' (The Post Bureaucratic Age) is Edmund Burke, and Ferdinand Mount. I'm hopeful, and I'll be leafleting come the General Election :-)

dexey

Having a toff as leader may be worrying the Tories less but it worries me.
I've never prospered under Labour, whether new or old, but prospered under the Tories in the Thatcher - Major years. What can an Old Etonian possibly understand of how I live? I am in favour of compassionate Conservatism but can't see an Eton led government leading it. It has never happened under previous Etonian prime Ministers in the 60 years that I have been affected.

Alf Tupper C.R.O.F.

'Well written'?

Are there any people who have made it to this level of professional exposition, who make a cat's arse of the job and still get paid?

Alf Tupper C.R.O.F.

An 'elite' is a group held up and acknowledged to be in some way, intrinsically superior.

And 'meritocracy' is the belief in the recognition of ability, from any person, regardless of their origin or 'grouping'.

So James, if you are genuinely interested - and if Caldwell is really so 'well written' - how is black made white?

TGF UKIP

James, I'd be very interested to see you provide your evidence that your pal Dave and the rest of his gang of ultra green, politically correct, metropolitan hedonists are anything but "Soho modernizers".

And as for any high achieving meritocrat, why on earth would he be attracted to the Mekon's Tories, unless of course he was one or more of: a member of Bullingdon, went to Eaton, was an Oxford pal of Dave's or a friend of the Cameron or Sheffield family, had a penchant for mortgage scams or could provide an endless stream of ideas for getting right up the noses of provincial Tory Party members.

Edmund Jerk

Jeremy,

One murder of an abortionist by a lone crazy hardly qualifies ALL of American Evangelical Christianity as "murderous" and as for rabid preachers, there are many more demagogues in the more "conservative" and traditional strains of Christianity. But they don't fit the smug European narrative that all Evangelical preachers are chubby, wailing freaks who want to burn Gays at the stake and lobby for a federal law which would fit chastity belts to all unmarried women.

And as for the nature of our relationship with the United States, which world power do you propose we start courting instead? China? Just because there is (according to you) "widespread and well-founded" criticism of the relationship between Britain and America doesn't mean Cameron should listen to it, or act on it. Apparently there is a widespread desire to bring back the death penalty - do you propose Cameron keep "closely attuned" to that side of popular opinion too?

Verity

Dave B - Agreed. I don't think the Conservative Party needs to be "modernised". Indeed, I think it needs to calm down and stop running frantically from pillar to post with swatches of cloth, colour charts, raising hemlines, lowering hemlines, new slogans, all new choreography in the cabinet, new communications methods imported from Dave's pr chums.

The Conservative Party needs to calm down and stick to doing what it does best: being calm, considered, rational, preserving what is best in our society, trying to better the lot of everyone with sound fiscal programmes and an attachment to law and order, and advancing with caution.

David Ossitt

dexey

"I've never prospered under Labour"

Nor has anyone else dexey.

4ntarctic

Alf Tupper - I think what Caldwell is saying is that the "elites" have been forced to become more "meritocratic" and therefore Cameron is considered less elitist and more of a safe and down-to-Earth candidate.

I don't think it's a case of changing black into white. It's a case of taking some black, adding white and coming out with something grey.

Frank P

Verity

.... and retrieving our sovereignty from Europe's unelected bureaucracy. Cameron has not shown that he is committed to, or capable of, achieving that. There is no current viable party that can offer that objective to the electorate. There is no clamour from the public at large to demand it. Thus the dissipation of our nationhood and the erstwhile virility of our culture appears to be doomed in the lifetime of my children.

Duyfken

Verity has it spot on. Vivat Verity.

Johnathan Pearce

I am not sure what is so libertarian about Mr Cameron's brand of soft-paternalist Toryism. For sure, they are tolerant on certain social issues, but as we found a year ago on issues like Green taxes on cheap airlines, the instincts of this lot are to regulate, to tax, to "nudge" us unwashed masses in the direction they want us to go.

IDS may moan that Mrs Thatcher and others were unduly focused on economics; what these critics miss is that the underlying problem in the UK right now is, still, about the relationship between the individual and the state. The state takes about half of our wealth, and regulates a good deal of the rest of it. How anyone with a claim to be called conservative can defend this state of affairs, or criticise those who would push the state back to a more modest role in our lives, is a total mystery.

Publius

@Dexey
I would rather have an educated Prime Minister than an uneducated one, and if Eton and Oxford give a person a good education, then good.

More generally, the Tories, and Tory commentators, need to drop the left-wing trait of searching for an ideology. Conservatives at their best are not an ideology party.

@Verity.
Agreed!

Rhoda Klapp

Two things stand out. One is a determination to see things through US eyes, so we see half the party categorised as evangelistic right-wing religious nuts. I don't identify anybody with that, it's a US thing, and I believe over-exaggerated there.

The other things Seppos always do is to put a class spin on everything that happens in the UK. They get their ideas on UK class from Agatha Christie et al. I don't dislike Cameron for his class, but for another set of reasons. I like to think that if he was working class (whatever that means) and equally slimy, dodgy, slick and generally blairish, I'd still not like him.

Jeremy

Edmund Jerk:

"And as for the nature of our relationship with the United States, which world power do you propose we start courting instead?"

I would propose that those seeking electoral office in Britain should begin and end by courting the interests of the British people. That might make for quite a pleasant change...

"Just because there is (according to you) "widespread and well-founded" criticism of the relationship between Britain and America doesn't mean Cameron should listen to it, or act on it."

Well yes, actually, I rather think that it does. I think that a democratic leader is in some senses obliged to listen to and acknowledge the feelings of his people. And I think that the feelings of the people about the case of Gary McKinnon are becoming increasingly clear. For the simple reason that it has implications for the liberty, security and independence of every Briton. So yes again, I think that Mr Cameron - having put himself forwards for election to lead the British government and people - should listen to, acknowledge and seek to do something about the concerns of the British people in relation to this case. Making a firm committment to revoke the Extradition Act 2003 might make for quite a good start. One looks for both courage and a strong feeling for natural justice in those who put themselves forward for election to the highest positions in the land.

Frank P:

"....and retrieving our sovereignty from Europe's unelected bureaucracy."

Yes. At the moment, the two biggest threats to our sovereignty and national independence are the United States and the EU. We should cut ourselves clear of them both.

dexey:

"Having a toff as leader may be worrying the Tories less but it worries me..."

I quite like having an Etonian as leader of the Conservative Party. I think it suits. After all, the first Duke of Wellington was an Etonian and he was neither an inconsiderable character nor a bad leader of the Tory party. And besides, I would sooner be lead by someone who is well educated than by someone who is not. I also appreciate the Etonian charm. What bothers me is their sometimes ruthless ambition. One occasionally receives the impression they might all sell their grandmothers into servitude and cast their friends to the crocodiles if that is what it took to for them to get wherever it is they wanted to go. I'm not saying Mr Cameron, personally, is like that. But the tendancy, in other Etonians, has been noted.

After all, Captain Hook was an Etonian...^^

Perry de Havilland

Anyone who has ever claimed David Cameron is in any way "libertarian" (he is a tax-and-spend regulatory statist) are either twisting the word in ways Orwell understood rather well or just have no meaningful conception what the word means.

JONNY

Is anyone else as bored, tired and sick to the guts with all this 'Old Etonian Toff' repetitive guff?
On and on and on it goes ad infinitum.
Why do many Coffehousers seem to have a social inferiority chip on their shoulders?
Can't they think of anything new to say?
They sound more and more like John Prescott.

Wily Trout

Dexey and David Ossitt: plenty of people have prospered under Labour. They're all the ones that need kicking out.

Publius

@Jonny
"Is anyone else as bored, tired and sick to the guts with all this 'Old Etonian Toff' repetitive guff?"

Yes. I am.

Verity

Jonny - From the evidence, it would appear to be Cameron who has a chip on his shoulder.

Where do you think "Call me Dave" came from? You think it was a spontaneous usage in the media, or part of a plan by Cameron to dress down, so to speak? He thinks most people called David, outside his circle, that is, call themselves "Dave". He thinks people outside his circle address meetings in a dress shirt with an open collar and no tie. He thinks formality outside his social circle is unknown and might frighten the "little people" into thinking he's too posh to vote for.

He thinks the "little people" address meetings holding a coffee mug, or a coffee cup. But not by its handle! Handles on cups are for posh people is Cameron's notion of what 'the little people' think.

By the way, I think I've referred to him as "Dave" once, and that was in error. I will not be manipulated by his rather coarse, blatant branding.

Cameron's a greedy man without talent or any other merit. If his lot get in, Britain's sunk because Cameron and the Heirites will take it further down the unnatural path of statism and, of course, what the nauseating hollowing out of our country over the past 12 years is all about, ultimately, subsuming Britain into the EU.

This individual is the polar opposite of "libertarian".

Verity

Perry - Nice to see you! You too, Jonathan!

JONNY

You're stuck in the groove Verity.
You still can't give us one credible alternative we won't hoot out of court.
I know you've tried hard. But your front runners are frankly farcical.

Verity

"As elites have become more meritocratic, the Tory Party is no longer their natural home. A result is that having a toff as leader now worries the Tories less."

Less than they were "worried" about Winston Churchill? Less than they were "worried" about Anthony Eden? Less than they were "worried" about Lord Home? All of whom they voted in.

What kind of a silly statement is that!

Tiberius

"Jonny - From the evidence, it would appear to be Cameron who has a chip on his shoulder".

Verity; that is by far the best one you've come out with yet.