Dave has some special new Labour friends

10 June 2009

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Anne McElvoy spots a new political type: the ‘Labrators’ who have more in common with Cameron than Brown, and may co-operate with a Tory government

Conservatives could also show that they are less sectarian than the outgoing clan by coming up with new ways to use the best of the talents to have sprung out of New Labour. ‘We haven’t thought enough about it,’ concedes one senior member of the inner circle. Could he envisage a former opponent sitting as a cross-bencher in the Lords and serving as a Tory minister? ‘Not as things stand: but everything’s up for grabs now.’

It all depends on how serious Mr Cameron is about constitutional reforms — and how different he really intends his government to be. As they prepare for power, the Conservatives need to avoid their own tendency towards cliquishness. And though they’re too polite to say it, there’s sometimes a punitive aspect beyond the reluctance to deal across the lines: why trade with the vanquished?

It reminds one witness of the SDP collapsing into the arms of Labour. ‘There were two views: welcome them with open arms, or nail their arms to the table, the treacherous bastards.’ At the same time, they look at President Obama’s bipartisan cabinet as a sign of his sovereignty and breadth. You don’t need to delve into the muddle of PR to emulate this. Leaders should decide who they want alongside them, but they should also voir grand.

One of the worst aspects of the British political system is that it emphasises divides which barely exist. Nothing inspires the best brains with similar inclinations to work together, instead the system encourages the narcissism of small differences. If the best businesses search for synergies, why do politicians try to repel them?

So Dave — look beyond your own breed. Get a Labrator, or several. They’re so useful to have around.

Anne McElvoy is political columnist of the London Evening Standard.

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wonderfulforhisage

June 11th, 2009 12:17pm Report this comment

I despair, Brown goes and we get NuLab Lite headed by the Heir to Blair.

It's enough to make a mother eat her young or vote BNP or something.

Rhoda Klapp

June 11th, 2009 12:42pm Report this comment

Hooray, when one party loses credibility these people will just support the other, so that the Utopia of centre-left politics may continue, unimpaired by any consideration of right or principle.

Scum.

Minnie Ovens

June 11th, 2009 8:18pm Report this comment

I suppose it is quite natural for Mr Cameron to look to his immediate left for friends.
I'm sure they approve of his manifesto far more than the right wing Conservatives do.
Well, that's if anyone knew what his policies were, but I guess he's probably told his new friends what they are.
Doesn't seem if Dave is picking up many of the disgruntled voters from Labour.
I wonder why not?

c chapman

June 12th, 2009 12:36pm Report this comment

Frank Field would certainly be a good man to talk to. The inside track on what stopped his welfare reforms and his ideas on controlling the massive welfare budget would be valuable in the extreme. I can never understand why he hasn't crossed the floor. He is far too sensible to still be in the same party as Brown and Prescott.

The Masked Marvel

June 13th, 2009 6:56pm Report this comment

This sounds like some Bizarro version of Reagan Democrats. That worked for at least one election, and one assumes that's all that matters at the moment. Too bad that most voters who aren't already voting Tory use the following formula to understand Mr. Cameron and his party:

Conservative = Toff + "I remember what the BBC remind us it was like under Thatcher".

Crude, but effective. Additionally, Reagan spent far more time on policy, his convictions, and the direction he wished to take the country when elected than on whining about Jimmy Carter's personality and leadership crisis. Perhaps a lesson there for PMQs?

If one is to judge from the recent EU election, it might be a better idea to bring voters over with real policies which will lead the country from strength to strength, instead of trying to triangulate towards them with advice from Labourites. In case anybody forgot, it's those Labourite policies which are the reason Messrs. Griffin and Bron will now have more say in laws which influence British lives than if they were in Westminster.

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