Politics

3 January 2009

Fraser Nelson reviews the week in politics

When David Cameron agreed last June to let his chief strategist work from California for six months, it seemed a timely break from what was threatening to become a dull job. Gordon Brown looked finished, and his party too weak to depose him. British politics threatened to be a comedy of errors stumbling on until the middle of 2010 — leaving plenty of time for Steve Hilton to go abroad, get married and send email advice from beside the swimming pool. From there, he must have watched in horror as British politics changed utterly.

Even his fortnightly flights home will not have been enough to keep up with the bewildering speed of the Brown bust. Boarded-up shops and pubs are starting to scar high streets, alongside jumble sales from retailers who fear they won’t be here at Easter. Across the country 1,500 jobs and 200 homes are lost each day — Britain is expected this year to suffer the worst rise in unemployment of any developed country. Soon, most people will know someone who has been laid off.

Mr Hilton is due to return next month, and will be tasked with drawing up a 2009 battle plan. It will have to be written in the lightest, most erasable pencil. There may or may not be a general election, a secondary banking crisis (which could yet bankrupt the country), and these are the risks we know about. Those we do not — what Donald Rumsfeld called the ‘unknown unknowns’ — will likely shape this year. The trick is for the Tories to stay as versatile as possible, and make the best of these Black Swans (rare and unpredicted events) when they arrive.

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hadrian

December 30th, 2008 10:15pm Report this comment

Eeks- am I really the first to comment in here?!
Anyway, on public spending cuts, I think the Tories will HAVE to face the reality that it'll have to be done- and pretty deeply too. Thing is to wean us off state dependency as gently as can be done. Then the public will feel both reassured and braced to face tougher times with more confidence.
On the EU elections, the 'Irish Question' must be played up for all its worth as indicative of just how deeply undemocratic this lumbering, quasi-imperialistic bureaucracy is and threatens to be. Frankly, even the most pro-EU enthusiasts must be admitting what a mockery the dismissal of the Irish vote has made of the democratic process. Again, as in the Green affair, it is up to the Tories to MAKE he public see and understand. They are there after all to LEAD, not slavishly follow wrongly supposed popular feeling.
The possibility of evem more migrants from benighted parts of the EU ( not to mention the dreaded Turkey ) in such economically stringent times ought to concentrate common sense minds wonderfully. Can our already creaking public services cope with further influxes; what about jobs? Xenophobia? My foot.

Eyo Ita

December 31st, 2008 4:30pm Report this comment

I buy The Spectator to read about 'real' political/economic analysis. Or is that too much to asked?

I will take my custom away, because I am not prepared to read about advice to a party that believes trully in privatising any thing moves, would do in the current world wide economic crises.

Answer me, when Thacther persuaded Sid to buy shares, did she mentioned that those companies will be owned by the French or Germans.

Instead of educating us how this comes about you harp on about European elections

The Masked Marvel

January 3rd, 2009 7:25pm Report this comment

The public will not look to a puffy toff to lead them in times of crisis. The Class War in Britain was won long ago. Even the BBC no longer bother to hide it. The public especially won't trust a puffy toff who doesn't realize they want to hear an actual plan of action and about values to which they can relate, rather than the same things he says during PMQs.

raobert hen ry

January 7th, 2009 9:18pm Report this comment

everything mr nelson says would be possible and most of it necessary, if it weren't for the fact that the Tories have 2 lightweights at the helm who would have no idea how to carry out any economic management. On every one their positions in the last 2 years, they have changed their tune and done a volte face viz green issues, sharing the process of growth etc. No credibility whatsoever.
Read Simon Heffer in monday's Telegraph to understand this point

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