A call to arms from St. Paul
Cameron should heed St. Paul, not his advisers
If Cameron is to win, he cannot equivocate
The one-day wonders of a few MPs drifting across the middle ground to shelter in Brown’s big tent apart, there has been a remarkable loyalty among senior Tories, in public at least. As for Lady Thatcher’s photo call at No. 10, that must have brought great satisfaction to the Cameroon inner circle who have been trashing Thatcherism, distancing Cameron from her, and selling their leader as the heir to Blair. They must be pleased to see Brown risking the unpopularity of being seen as heir to Thatcher — not Blair.
So things, Cameron might have thought, could hardly be better for the Tories. Yet somehow it is Labour that seems to be in the lead. Something, somewhere, has gone wrong and the Tories can only hope that they will be given time to get it right. First of all they have to realise it is not all David Cameron’s fault. It goes back a long way to when the Euro-fanatics ambushed Margaret Thatcher and dragged her into the ERM before they finished her off in 1990.
The fuse they had lit led to Black Wednesday’s explosion when Major, Heseltine and Clarke gambled against the currency markets and lost. Sadly it was not just the fanatics but the Conservative party which lost a reputation for economic competence and it cost not only Major an election, but Hague and Howard too.
For some reason the Cameroons thought that if they distanced themselves from the Thatcher years, they could escape the curse of the ERM debacle. They called it ‘decontaminating the brand’, but they ended up flushing the baby of Thatcher’s successes down the plughole, and floundering in the dirty bathwater of Major’s disaster.
As the polls turned bad they forgot Denis Healey’s advice: ‘When you are in a hole, stop digging.’ They abused in most offensive terms the ineffably polite Michael Ancram rather than biting their tongues and hugging him back into line as though he was a hoodie.
The tactic of kicking policy (except on grammar schools) into touch by appointing commissions of wise and not so wise men looked good, but sod’s law has landed Cameron with a hotchpotch of policy proposals, many contradictory or unpopular. That will need another round of hasty decontamination of toxic political waste under the shadow of a possible October election.
More articles from: Norman Tebbit | this section
Post this entry to: del.icio.us | Digg | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
Advertisement
The law applies to Damian Green, too
Rod LiddleRod Liddle is reluctant to join the journalistic herd in its unqualified outrage at the Tory MP’s arrest. But it is certainly time to put the police under the microscope
After Baby P: the crisis in child foster care
Mary WakefieldMary Wakefield talks to a courageous woman who blew the whistle on the deep systemic failures in the foster care service — and whose only reward was to be hounded and vilified
The global force behind Mumbai’s agony is in our midst
Stephen SchwartzStephen Schwartz and Irfan Al-Alawi say that LET — the Army of the Righteous — is a worldwide Islamist organisation which is well-established in Britain. The Mumbai atrocities are further proof that the march of Islamic extremism is the central fact of our time
‘They treat me more like a devil than a god’
Lloyd EvansLloyd Evans finds that Bernard-Henri Lévy is not the ageing French dandy of caricature but a serious intellectual with views on everything from Barack Obama to the Muslim veil
What I learned from the Somali pirates
Aidan HartleyAidan Hartley says that Somali piracy is very well-organised and efficient and is opposed publicly only by militant Muslims — who may yet seize power in Mogadishu
Brown has played into the hands of the Tory Bullingdon Boys he loathes
Fraser NelsonFraser Nelson says that the Pre-Budget Report killed off New Labour without landing a punch on the Tories. It has paved the way for a new Conservatism, in which Cameron woos aspirational voters, focuses on government debt and looks for responsible spending cuts
Thank goodness we can have a run on the pound when we need one
Martin Vander WeyerMartin Vander Weyer looks ahead to next week’s Pre-Budget Report and reflects on George Osborne’s contentious remarks about the devaluation of sterling. It looks like Gordon Brown is getting away with his borrowing binge — leaving the Tories isolated
The Republicans are where the Tories were in 1997
James ForsythThis is bad news for the Conservatives, who have always feasted on US right-of-centre ideas, says James Forsyth. But the GOP can learn from the Cameroons
Want to cut taxes? First cut spending. Here’s how
Fraser NelsonAfter a week of clamorous competition between the parties over tax cuts, Fraser Nelson offers a guide to paying for them: a programme of spending cuts that would preserve core services but shave off the fat of the Brown years. All that is needed is political will
Amid the financial turmoil, Peter versus George is the key battle
Fraser NelsonStand by for a mighty clash between two politicians, says Fraser Nelson. The now infamous dinner between Mandelson and Osborne was a cordial parting for power-brokers of different generations who will fight each other savagely for electoral advantage
Latest blog posts
sponsored links
Free Sky Digital Offer - Order Now
Subscribe to Sky from £16 a month. Get free equipment and free broadband - Join Now. Sky HD - be amongst the first to have it - order now.
Free Sky Digital Offer - Order Now
Subscribe to Sky from £16 a month. Get free equipment and free broadband - Join Now. Sky HD - be...
ROME CENTRE
PORTA METRONIA, ROME Standing high on the top of one of the seven hills of Rome- the Coelian- this unique
City Breaks. ROME and PARIS
ROME and PARIS: over 350 holiday rentals apartments listed: visit www.romanreference.com and www.parisreference.com or call +39 0648 903612.
Jewellery. RUFFS (Estd. 1904).
Goldsmiths by Design Welcome to Ruffs! You have found a company of Goldsmiths that specialises in the manufacture, amongst other
Spectator Business | Apollo Magazine
Corporate | Advertising | Privacy | Terms
Spectator, 22 Old Queen Street, London, SW1H 9HP
All Articles and Content Copyright ©2008 by The Spectator | All Rights Reserved
chris dowling
October 5th, 2007 12:06pmThe Tory policy for success is simple."Give people back more of their own money."Zero tolerence for anti social behaviour."Mighty Oaks from little acorns grow".Much more draconian punishment for violent criminals.Its as simple as that!