Can Cameron deliver?

14 November 2009

There is something about ‘compassionate conservatism’ that infuriates the Labour party, as if the very phrase were a deceitful contradiction in terms.

There is something about ‘compassionate conservatism’ that infuriates the Labour party, as if the very phrase were a deceitful contradiction in terms. The notion sends Gordon Brown into apoplexy. He can handle the Tories talking about economic efficiency or immigration, but he regards concern for the poorest as a subject purely for Labour. And for too many of the last 20 years, it has been. As a result Labour has incubated, through its dysfunctional welfare state, the most expensive poverty in the world. From the beginning of David Cameron’s leadership, he has focused on this outrage. It was for ‘hugging hoodies’ that he was lampooned early on, and it was his exposure of Labour’s failure to tackle poverty that was most keenly applauded at his party’s annual conference last month.

Cameron’s critique of Britain’s ‘broken society’ has been a theme running through his speeches. His agenda for ‘social responsibility’ — an unfortunately woolly phrase — disguises genuine and radical conservatism. It deserves to be taken seriously. This week, Mr Cameron gave the clearest exposition yet of his philosophy. He has spoken about transparency, localism, welfare and education reform before, but now he has woven them together. He has explained how the state is unwittingly fuelling the very poverty it pretends to solve; how perverse incentives ensure that couples are better off on benefits than working and better off placing their son or daughter in residential care than looking after him at home. If welfare pays more than work, why work?

Mr Cameron has described the problem powerfully, but his next task is to outline a convincing solution. Across the ocean, President Obama’s first year in power has demonstrated the distinction between persuasive argument and definitive action. Policy tensions that seem barely perceptible out of office can quickly cause trouble in it. For Mr Obama, a lack of clarity in his plans for healthcare reform or for his nation’s continuing role in Afghanistan have intermittently sunk his popularity rating and hobbled his administration. It is a warning to Mr Cameron of what may await him.

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