What Cameron should learn from Blair's experience

David Boothroyd

Would a referendum on joining the Euro have been won in early 1998? Doubtful, I think, with no economic necessity for it. Remember that the referendum on devolution in Wales was nail-bitingly close despite strong backing from Tony Blair, and that Labour only got 44% of the vote in 1997. Avoiding historical revisionism, at no point did Tony Blair truly 'walk on water' electorally, certainly not in actual votes in actual elections.

Nick Longworth

Your last line: "The lesson for the Tories is that if they win the next election, they must be at their boldest in their opening 18 months in office. Otherwise, they might miss their chance." This should be printed in large letters and hung in every Conservative MPs office for the next two years.

David Mallory

I really do grow tired of all these attempts to draw 'lessons' for the next Conservative government from this, that and the other. Let's see about winning that general election first, shall we? And then see whether a workable majority comes out of that? And then see what sort of state the public finances are really in? All this armchair wonkery is more redolent of a sixth-form common room than serious policy making. I am particularly weary of the apparently never-ceasing attempt to find justifications for a 'radical' policy agenda which there's absolutely no evidence of the electorate wanting. What you seem to be suggesting is that if the Tories are clever they will do loads of really unpopular things early on in Government on the grounds that they won't be popular enough further down the second and thrid terms which will magically also fall into their laps. It may give you pause for thought that Blair's caution was rewarded by a further enormous victory in 2001 and a pretty decent one in 2005. I can only assume that you're very young and don't realise that one general election victory doesn't lead automatically to three or four terms in government.

adrian drummond

I'm hoping that when historians look back at the Blair era they will see him for what he was - a con. Blair was a Conservative wolf in labour's clothing and many of labour's followers just never saw it. He may be a fine actor (Catherine Tate show) and charms us all but he is certainly no political intellect in the Keith Joseph mould. However, in respect to your central point about Cameron being cautious, a simple quote may suffice - 'Fortune favours the brave'.

David Parker

The Cameron strategy seems to place too much emphasis upon change for change's sake. What he also needs to concentrate upon is convincing the voters that his administration would be more open and honest, more practically competent and less wasteful than Labour has been over the past ten years. This does not necessarily mean scrapping, or re-inventing, every Government policy, but it does require that these are administered by more competent administrators and Ministers and that the latter are more strictly held to account by Parliament. Cameron has a more than adequate supply of ammunition to demonstrate Labour's many failures, in all these respects.

Rowland

Good government is slipshod and shabby. Hubristic schemes always end up destroying more than they create. I'm hugely glad Blair didn't feel able to force through truly radical change. If he is truly a conservative, Cameron will feel the same way. http://reheated.wordpress.com/